The law sets a priority for paying bills out of an estate when someone dies. You mention having a lawyer -- if the lawyer is handling the probate administration for the estate, they should be able to explain the process of notifying creditors. In instances when an estate has little assets it may... View More

If someone is breaching their fiduciary duties as Trustee you are highly encouraged to consult with a Maryland lawyer well-versed in such matters. Adam Spence, a lawyer in Towson, MD of the firm Spence & Brierley, PC is one such lawyer skilled with such cases. Naturally you should contact... View More

I am sorry to hear of your loss.

Most estates do not need to file an estate tax return. An estate tax return is different than an individual tax return. The person who died does typically have a final 1040 income tax return filed in the year they died (which may or may not have... View More

Generally speaking a landlord cannot increase rent without giving notice. Some leases are written in such a way that any "hold over" tenant (someone who stays beyond their original lease term) automatically has a higher rent that is spelled out in the lease while in other cases the lease... View More

If a husband and wife own property jointly in Maryland, the type of joint ownership automatically changes at divorce to "tenants in common," meaning each person on title owns 1/2 with no survivorship rights to the other person's half. Unless the divorce decree / separation agreement... View More

A tenant typically pays rent or has some obligation to pay rent, while a guest does not. A tenant stays pursuant to a lease (whether oral or written) while guests do not have a lease. If a guest has ever paid money to the owner to live in the property, even if only in a part of a house, they... View More

An attorney cannot realistically answer a question about enforcing terms against a tenant without looking at the lease in question. Some leases make mention that a tenant needs to abide by posted rules, while others may be silent on the topic.

Maryland law requires that most Sellers of residential property disclose latent defects and that they complete a Maryland disclosure/disclaimer statement. However, the law requiring the disclosure/disclaimer specifically exempts "A sale by a lender or an affiliate or subsidiary of a lender... View More

Generally a reverse mortgage operates as a lien against the property, meaning that the lender needs to get paid when the house sells/transfers. If the loan is not paid off after the original owner(s) die, the lender has a right to take over and foreclose or sell the property. Heirs should not... View More

You may wish to re-post with the specific question.

A health care power of attorney specifies when it comes into effect. While customarily people retain full power to make decisions until they lack the ability to do so, an advance directive and durable health care power of attorney can kick into effect whenever the planner dictates.

It is unclear what type of assets you reference. If someone dies owning real estate titled in their name in MD, then typically an ancillary estate must be opened in MD to dispose of the real estate. However, there are other ways to pass property and you are strongly encouraged to consult with... View More

Typically if a new asset is discovered / new money comes in the estate needs to be reopened. In some situations an estate that qualifies for a small estate might not require full reporting.

In either case, funds payable to the estate or the deceased can only go into an estate account and... View More

I am sorry to hear of the loss of both of your parents.

A Personal Representative cannot legally open an estate without notifying all heirs and interested persons which would include all children of the deceased. In Maryland, the court actually directly sends the notice based on the list... View More

The context of the question isn't clear. "Next of kin" typically describes the next closest living relative of someone, usually without regard to their age. Maryland does not really confer any special rights on someone by being the "next of kin." A person is generally... View More

Under Maryland law interest accrues on all security deposits held for more than 6 months, regardless of whether or not they are in an account earning interest. The old law set the interest at 3%, under current law the amount is lower but without looking at the lease it is difficult to say which %... View More

While an individual can chose to represent themselves, generally a corporation must have a lawyer represent in nearly all matters. Maryland law does have an exception where an officer / owner may represent a corporation only in small claims matters under $5,000. If the amount is over $5,000 the... View More

The rules vary from county to county - the county code will have details on when a building permit is required, or you could call the office of building inspections and permits in the county where your property is located.

I strongly encourage you to consult with someone who can look over the lease at issue. Generally a landlord will have no right to increase rent in the middle of a lease term. You may wish to call the Landlord-Tenant hotline at Baltimore Neighborhoods Inc. (a non-profit that answers... View More

You may wish to re-post with a clearer legal component to the question. Patients are free to seek a second opinion from another medical provider if they have questions about any care offered by current providers.