Q: My father and mother died three months apart. I am the sole heir and my name has been on all accounts for years.
Is there a law in MD that requires filing wills? The MD State Retirement System will not release the $2200, owed from dad's final pension, to my mother's estate/me, without a Letter of Administration from the court. I live in another state and this is extremely difficult for me to do. I already sent copies of death certificate and her will. I haven't needed anything but her death certificate till now. They had no real estate. Thank you for any advice.
A: Call the Register of Wills in the county where your father resided at the time of his death. You will have to open a small estate, file his original will, and be issued Letters of Administration to act as Personal Representative of his estate. You can then execute checks, documents, etc. and receive assets of his for distribution.
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