A properly filed mortgage or deed of trust should act as a lien against the property. Generally, however, a loan has a maturity date (whether 10, 20, 30 years, etc.) and after a certain amount of time past the maturity date a mortgage may be considered satisfied. A lender generally can exercise... View More

A donor may need to get a qualified appraisal of the property. The instructions to Form 8283 give more details. Determining entitlement to a deduction in a particular case will be quite fact-specific and is best raised with your accountant or tax professional.

Generally speaking a PR has no "right" to occupy estate property unless the Will grants such rights. Unless the PR stands to inherit the property, or all the heirs agree, the PR should typically pay reasonable rent to the estate based on fair market rates. That being said, if the PR... View More

Whenever someone petitions to open an estate in Maryland they must post bond to cover the amount of the estate as well as the probate court taxes/fees unless it is waived by Will or by the interested persons.

Where the bond is waived by the Will, the Personal Representative only needs to... View More

With a Will, the personal representative has an obligation to promptly open the estate. Without a Will, the family should open an estate as soon as reasonably possible but there is no strict time frame in terms of days. Although not best practice, one may open an estate even after significant... View More

Hi,

Yes, it is entirely possible to buy out a co-owner on inherited property. There are two ways to do this:

1) if there is enough other property in the probate estate it might be possible to have real estate disbursed solely to one heir and other assets disbursed to the remaining... View More

Yes, a grantee is a party to a deed.

Because there are different types of deeds in this state and different ways two people can jointly own property together, I'd encourage anyone preparing their own deed to make sure they have a good grasp of same. It also helps to understand the... View More

Capital gain is calculated and paid when a home is sold for profit, not when it is transferred without consideration. To figure out your potential capital gains liability you would need to talk to an accountant or tax professional and know the basis in the property and the anticipated future sale... View More

Without knowing the reason for the trust an attorney cannot really answer. There are as many kinds of trusts as a lawyer's imagination can draw up! Who will benefit? Is there a desire to control or limit assets after disbursement?

If the concern is granting someone else control... View More

The absolute basics are the identity of the Testator, the designation of a Personal Representative and Legatees. A will must be in writing and signed, as well as witnessed by at least 2 witnesses who also sign.

A well-drafted will contains more than this and typically addresses things... View More

Not exactly. A personal representative has a duty to act promptly, but what this means will vary with the circumstances. Typically it will take a minimum of 6 months to process a probate estate and more typically 9-18 months. To understand what is reasonable in a particular estate will depend... View More

Without answering questions about any specific estate, estates take a minimum of 6 months (the period of time creditors can surface) but more typically take 12-18 months. Estates qualifying for modified administration close within less than 1 year while very complex estates might take several... View More

The complexity of your situation will in part answer the question. Legally, anyone can prepare their own will so long as they put it in writing and sign in the presence of 2 witnesses who also sign. The "simpler" the Will, the easier for a layperson to do it themselves. For instance,... View More

Generally speaking a tenant is "on the hook" under a lease for the entire term but the Landlord has a legal duty to mitigate damages by trying to re-rent. A landlord can choose to EITHER take a new tenant but still keep the first tenant responsible if the new tenant defaults OR release... View More

Often the security deposit receipt is included in the lease language itself (instead of being a separate piece of paper).

The law requires that the Landlord return the security deposit, or send a letter explaining what damages were deducted from the security deposit, within 45 days. It... View More

The answer to the question should be found in the contract that you signed.

A "typical" Maryland board of realtors contract often specifies that both parties need to sign off on a release before the broker can release the earnest money deposit. Unfortunately if the contract... View More

The law does not interject itself into matters of church discipline.

Your question brings up the doctrine of separation of church and state. The phrase "separation of church and state" is sometimes tossed around to suggest that people should not exercise faith in public places.... View More

The law may insert common sense at points. For instance, a payment amount in the US is likely presumed to be U.S. Dollars, even if not express.

Some terms may be too vague to be definitely and in some cases may be simply an "agreement to agree."

If you have specific... View More

It isn't clear whether the post means the parent named beneficiaries in a will, in a trust or simply put the children on title to assets. The first thing to do would be to find out whether the assets are being administered through a trust, through probate or whether they just automatically... View More

The question isn't entirely clear. If it is asking about Letters of Administration, these are given to the person appointed by the court as Personal Representative. The law gives an order of priority, but generally the closest relatives (e.g., spouse, parents, children) have priority over... View More