This question comes up quite often.

Most of the time the person making the trust will be the initial trustee and designate others to serve after their death or incapacity. Whether hiring a professional trustee is feasible or not depends in part on how long you want/need trust oversight.... View More

Without a professional (lawyer or broker), you have very little protections. This type of entity preys on distressed sellers to scrape as much of the equity as is possible. They often ignore the consumer protection that is built into existing statutes and local ordinances by treating yours as a... View More

What you do not state is whether your father is mentally competent to make his own decisions, from a legal standpoint. The fact that "social services" (you do not name the government department by name, so it is unclear whom, exactly, you are referencing) deems him competent to go home... View More

The statute of limitations for debts is 3 years, meaning a lawsuit must be filed within 3 years of the debt becoming due, or the debtor can move to dismiss the court action as beyond the statute (limitations is an "affirmative defense" that must be raised by the defendant or it is... View More

You may find this article helpful, although it is a bit dated (2011) and laws change:

https://www.specialneedsalliance.org/the-voice/utilizing-the-spend-down-option-to-maintain-ssi-andor-medicaid-eligibility-2/

To clear the whole amount you might purchase a special bed for her, one... View More

Maryland law requires that any POA executed on or after October 1, 2010, be notarized and witnessed by two persons in the presence of each other and the principal of the POA. However, a Notary Public can act as one of the two witnesses, so you might argue that one witness plus the Notary is... View More

I am sorry for your loss. You can check online here:

http://registers.maryland.gov/main/search.html

Why is there a trust? Who created the trust? How was the trustee appointed? Is this a court appointed guardian as opposed to a private trustee? What is your evidence supporting your claims that the attorney and his family have taken funds for their personal use? (If this is true that is a crime--a... View More

Your father would need to seek out an elder care lawyer to map out a strategy to protect his assets from counting towards Medicaid eligibility. Your disability is irrelevant and will not shelter his assets. He would need to get his assets out of his name five years before applying for Medicaid if... View More

The procedural rules do not have an exception in their time deadlines for switching lawyers. Written discovery responses are due 30 days after service of them upon you. That said, the discovery deadlines in most cases in circuit court can encompass a 4-6 month range, and it is common for parties... View More

She files a petition to resign, preferably simultaneously with another appropriate person petitioning to take her place, with the agreement of all other "interested persons" entitled to act as guardian under the statute. If there is no such person, then the court will have to appoint... View More

Yes, Y is a creditor of the estate and may file a claim for funeral expenses paid. Y should submit a formal claim together with the invoices/receits showing the amounts incurred. If the Personal Representatve fails to pay or denies all or part of the claim, Y can petition to court to order the PR... View More

A driving test failure is a driving test failure. How do you propose overturning the determination on appeal that you failed the test? Just saying that in your opinion you can drive safely will not be enough. The Administrative Law Judge, and ultimately if you pursue it further, a Circuit Court... View More

If you are being charged with a crime by the police or prosecuting authorities of the state, hire a criminal defense lawyer. If some family member or other person is just accusing you of elder abuse but is not an authorized representative of the State or local government having authority over... View More

You need to be more specific as to what your concern or issue is. What about your husband being in a "facility" (medical facility? prison? mental health hospital?) causes you to need advice about what to do?

Once someone passes away, their property becomes a part of their probate estate. Property in the name of someone who died cannot be sold until an estate is opened and someone is appointed as Personal Representative of the estate. Your post does not indicate whether an estate has been opened or... View More

Under federal income tax law, the tax basis of your father is "stepped up" to fair market value on his date of death. That is the basis you would use to determine capital gains, if any.

So for example, if you dad purchased his house for $75K in 1995, and when he died in January... View More

Depends on the original source of the money, and when your name was put on the account. I assume your father needs to qualify for Medicaid to pay the nursing home care, and to do so Medicaid requires that your father use his own assets until he has paid down to the level necessary to receive... View More

Assuming the "family home" is in the probate estate, then yes, a Personal Representative of an estate can usually sell the property without getting permission from other family members. However, the Personal Representative must report the sale to the court and get the court to sign off... View More

If all interested parties agree that you should be paid, you should be able to work it out as either a claim or a partial renunciation. This is a matter to be discussed with the personal representative or the lawyer.