Hi and thanks for posting a real estate question.

The first variable is whether your father's wife is still living. This appears to be a life estate to your father's wife, with the life estate ending if the life tenant moves out or remarries.

You describe a position... View More

Whatever informal arrangement might exist, formal custody is determined by the courts. You're asking questions that really would benefit from sitting down and consulting with a family law attorney who can go over all the specifics of your situation and the options to seek formal guardianship... View More

The law prevents attorneys from "price fixing" or agreeing to charge a uniform fee for services so this is not the place to get an answer on fees. That said, I can understand your desire to get a sense of what costs might be involved before you retain an attorney. Some firms might... View More

Generally speaking the right to get out of a lease is set by the lease.

That said, Maryland offers a procedure called "rent escrow" when a landlord refuses to repair serious issues. Although the landlord may not voluntarily let a tenant out of a lease early, if the conditions... View More

First, if you are homeless with children the immediate need would seem to be to secure housing for your family. A variety of government and non-government agencies are available to help. The local Department of Social Services may be a good place to start, or you may want to reach out to an... View More

The code section you reference applies to ratio billing systems (in other words utilities that are not separately metered but instead allocated amongst tenants by the landlord). According to the code, certain information about same must be provided to prospective tenants before a lease starts.... View More

Often when people speak of something being "grandfathered" they mean that something (say a building) complied with whatever regulations existing when it was built/created and so it doesn't need to come up to today's standards/laws. However it is unusual to speak of a person... View More

This would be done by a no consideration deed. To do this "quickly" you'd likely want to find a law firm who can record electronically which speeds up the process considerably. Charles County does require a lien sheet before any deed can be recorded.

I agree that a real... View More

When essential items like hot water or heat are not provided, a tenant can seek "rent escrow" through the district court. Naturally a tenant can start outside of court by requesting rent abatement from the landlord for any period where property was not fit to live in, but if a serious... View More

Yes, property deeds showing ownership are filed "registered" with the Land Records in the Circuit Court of each county. Clerks generally do not do any research to verify ownership. A title search would verify who owns a particular property. (Property owned by an entity may be more... View More

Maryland inheritance tax is based on the relationship of the giver to the recipient, and is not tied to other death taxes, so on a $20M estate this could be $2M, $0 or nearly anything in between. (And if the tax is paid "outside" of the gift, Maryland will "tax the tax" and... View More

In a word, yes, even where a Will waives bond the Register can still require a nominal bond to cover anticipated inheritance tax and other court fees.

Wills almost always waive the bond requirement for monies going to people who may inherit. However the government doesn't... View More

Maryland law offers "rent escrow" as an option for a tenant living in a place that has serious health or safety violations. The tenant can seek different options, from having the landlord fix the problem, to asking the court to reduce rent or break the lease. It is up to the court to... View More

With any billing question it may be helpful to first review in detail the fine print of the insurance contract and/or ask the person/company imposing the charge to show you where in the contract gives the right to impose such a charge. For example, a contract might impose an "installment... View More

Generally speaking the rights of an occupant ("roommate") who is not an owner are based on the lease. If there is no lease, then one must move out after given proper notice to vacate. Legally speaking it doesn't make much difference if someone has lived in property for 6 months, 2... View More

The Will only controls assets the deceased person died owning.

With a beneficiary or payable on death designation, the title is transferred automatically to the beneficiary when the original owner dies (though practically the beneficiary may need to show the death certificate to confirm... View More

If there is no Will and no surviving spouse, parents or children / grandchildren, the nieces and nephews of the Deceased (children of the deceased sibling) receive under "representation". For example, if there were 4 siblings who either survived or who died with their own issue, then the... View More

It would depend on the deed language. Two people (including a parent/child) can own property together with or without survivorship rights and the mere fact that the word "heirs" is in the deed doesn't tell the whole story.

The Court does not need everyone's consent to "proceed with probate". Consent may affect whether or not the appointed person needs to post full or nominal bond.

The law sets an order of priority for people to serve as Personal Representative. When multiple people with the... View More

A names "comes off" property by a deed that gets recorded in Land Records. If this wasn't handled in the divorce, you may want to talk to a real estate attorney who can prepare a deed conveying to your ex.

A deed does not change who has responsibility on a mortgage, but... View More