Generally speaking someone cannot transfer ownership of property without paying off the mortgage balance in full. However, things are a bit different for a husband and wife. A federal law called the Garn St. Germain Act allows a spouse to essentially take over a mortgage for a home if they are... View More

The general rule that mortgages are not assumable does not usually apply to situations where a spouse is getting a home. There is a specific federal law that allows a husband or wife to continue paying the mortgage in the ordinary course. To get more details you could contact an experienced... View More

This question (or some variation of it) gets asked a lot.

The GENERAL rule is that a mortgage is not assumable. However, a federal law changes how the general rule applies in certain family situations involving residential property. When a home is transferred to a husband or wife, the... View More

In Maryland a Will is a matter of public record after the person who made it dies. The personal representative has an obligation to open the estate and identify both the people named in the Will to inherit as well as people who would inherit if there was no Will. Depending on who was in the... View More

Yes, transfer and recordation tax are due when the deed gets recorded.

Note that tax sales in MD require a foreclosure lawsuit before the county issues a deed. Purchasing at the tax sale auction is only the first step.

While not legal advice I hope this general information helps.

The short answer to your question is "Yes, it is possible for the Personal Representative (Executor) to buy property from the estate.

So long as it is for fair market value (as your post suggests), the process is fairly straight-forward and involves deeding out of the estate. It is... View More

A Power of Attorney gives someone else rights to manage financial affairs and property while the planner is LIVING.

In contrast, an Executor (Personal Representative) is appointed to manage the financial affairs and property after the planner dies.

While not legal advice, I... View More

Generally speaking anyone can pay anyone else's property taxes... the state will not reimburse someone for paying taxes on property they do not own.

However, the question prompts another - how was there confusion on the ownership of the property? Tax bills show the name of the... View More

This question really needs to be posed to a family law attorney, in private consultation, who can look at the custody order and listen to the facts related to the possible abuse to see if an emergency petition is in order. Violating an existing court order can indeed cause someone to be held for... View More

An appraisal is required for most tangible personal property that the decedent dies owning. Under Maryland law a Personal Representative can only value certain kinds of personal property (e.g., automobiles with a blue book value). Unfortunately furniture is not in the list of items a Personal... View More

I am sorry to hear of the recent loss of your father.

The post states that the policy holder "went through the online system and put his new wife down as the beneficiary." That is almost certainly the answer to the question "who the true beneficiary is of his life... View More

The Grantees are persons receiving an interest in property. So if B holds a life estate during C's life (it isn't clear why one would do this), "C" wouldn't be a grantee.

There are a variety of ways one can transfer lifetime interests in property, with a host of... View More

As another attorney noted, the general rule is that joint accounts with survivorship rights pass to the survivor without going through probate.

However, there are some circumstances under which the general rule does not apply and funds in a joint account are construed as being held in a... View More

The initial contract price is not always the final sale price. While it is possible your agent lied, it is also possible that the Seller in fact accepted a higher offer and either the appraisal or an inspection caused a re-negotiation of the price before it got to sale. Because contracts,... View More

No. You simply need to verify the exact date of death balance in the account.

The fee for trusts is not set by law and estate planning attorneys will set their own rates, so a trust may cost more or less than the figure you quoted, depending on the circumstances and what else is involved. (My firm, for example, at time of this post prepares comprehensive revocable trust... View More

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

Hi,

Are you selling the property? If not, you typically would not calculate capital gains tax at this stage. When you do sell, the capital gains will depend how you received the property, how much it sold for and what the original value or "basis" is. Typically an accountant... View More

Your situation seems to involve a hybrid -- if your name was put on the property while your father was living, and you inherited the balance when your father died you need to separately figure out the capital gains for each half. The very general rule is that anything someone inherits gets a... View More

Short answer is "yes." Under current Maryland law, a niece/nephew pays 10% on the value of what they inherit from an aunt/uncle (whether through a Will, co-owned account or a POD account).