In estate administration with real estate, one of two things should happen: either real estate gets sold and cash proceeds disbursed to heirs after paying expenses OR all the expenses get paid and any real estate gets deeded to the heirs. Sometimes one or more of the heirs will "buy... View More

"is it legal" might depend. If you are asking whether you can operate a business out of a residential address, that usually depends on the zoning. In some counties you will need to get a Zoning Certificate of Use before commencing any operations. In many counties, an owner-occupant... View More

At the outset, we are working under a totally new set of rules and while attorneys can attempt a reasonable stab at interpretation, no one has had the ability to see how things would play out if challenged. Under the Maryland order, employees and owners generally may go on-site to non-essential... View More

It is not possible to get assets titled in the name of the deceased person without opening an estate. When someone passes in this state with less than $50,000 in total assets, the estate counts as a "small estate" with a streamlined process and usually less expense than a regular... View More

A lender can only charge what fees the loan documents allow. While a borrower should carefully check the paperwork signed, normally if a mortgage is being paid on time the only charges allowed by the loan documents will be principal and interest plus any escrows (taxes/insurance). A borrower... View More

There are two intertwined questions in the scenario. First, can a tenant "legally" refuse to leave if their lease is up and they've been given proper notice? Assuming the appropriate notice has in fact been given, legally, "No."

That said, the second and... View More

Eminent domain is a governmental action initiated when the government wants to take over real estate for some public purpose (for instance, to build a highway ) and a private person cannot "file for" it. If a private person feels they have possession or ownership rights to a piece of... View More

It will depend on whether the siblings owned as "Joint Tenants" or as "Tenants in Common." One way, the surviving sibling owns 100%, the other way, each sibling who died would still have a share that would go through their estate(s). A probate estate would need to be opened... View More

While family may have a natural desire to know what planning documents an elderly relative has in place, those details are private and there is ordinarily no obligation for a grandparent (or other planner) or the person named as attorney-in-fact to reveal the details to any other relative.... View More

To the question "How can I find out who legal owner of [a particular road or property] is?" A survey and/or a title search can usually answer the question. A title search goes through the land records and can reveal whether someone lawfully owns X sq. feet of land or show whether or... View More

Whatever the broker and the property owner agree to. Maryland law does not mandate any kind of brokerage commission for private sales, though there usually are reasonable and customary "norms." If you call several brokers you will probably get a pretty good sense of the normative range... View More

Maryland law allows planners to maintain absolute control and privacy over their own Wills -- so long as they are living there is no obligation whatsoever to disclose the contents to anyone else.

Wills are typically (though not always) stored in the Register of Wills' vault - the... View More

Typically you'd need to open an estate and get "letters of administration" to have legal authority over assets titled in the deceased person's sole name.

Maryland has a streamlined process for small estates and if the only asset is a car worth less than $20,000, it will... View More

The answer will vary dramatically depending on whether this was a commercial or residential lease.

Residential leases have very clear guidelines on how a security deposit is handled and strict timeframes for return of the deposit. Commercial leases on the other hand generally are up to... View More

Thanks for your post.

Federal law requires that lenders give a copy of the appraisal to the BORROWER for residential loans. This is an expansion and relatively recent change in the law - historically lenders didn't give copies of the appraisal to anyone, including the buyer/borrower,... View More

Typically you'd want an attorney to help draw up the contract (or review a contract presented by a buyer) and advise on mandatory disclosures. Depending on the situation an attorney might also assist with negotiation and/or attend settlement if so desired.

By law the buyer has the... View More

If a retirement account has no beneficiaries, it usually defaults to the estate of the deceased. An estate attorney can help navigate the process of estate administration and you're encouraged to seek legal advice if you are the personal representative listed in the Will (or family member of... View More

As another attorney noted, a Will is a matter of public record once an estate is opened. Additionally, once an estate is opened notice is specifically sent to all interested persons in the estate. The law does not set an exact time to open an estate after someone dies, but a personal... View More

Yes. (though it should read "...joint tenants and unto the survivor of them, their heirs...")

Maryland law does not mandate waiting 6 months to market/sell property, but proceeds should not be disbursed to heirs until 6 months have passed, any payments are prioritized according to the order set forth in MD law and the court has approved the accounting.

While not legal advice, I... View More