Anyone not named in a Will gets nothing if your will specifically names those whom you want to receive your estate. The only exception is the statutory right of a surviving spouse (married at time of death) to elect one-third of your estate regardless of what your will says. If you are concerned... Read more »

Why is there a trust? Who created the trust? How was the trustee appointed? Is this a court appointed guardian as opposed to a private trustee? What is your evidence supporting your claims that the attorney and his family have taken funds for their personal use? (If this is true that is a crime--a... Read more »

Your father would need to seek out an elder care lawyer to map out a strategy to protect his assets from counting towards Medicaid eligibility. Your disability is irrelevant and will not shelter his assets. He would need to get his assets out of his name five years before applying for Medicaid if... Read more »

Private burial plots on an owner's land is only permitted if the county code for the local jurisdiction allows it; otherwise, it is prohbited by state statute, which requires that bodies be buried in a licensed cemetery. This is a health code issue, as well as a land use issue to protect... Read more »

If I am understanding your scenario, the executor of the estate intends to purchase real property owned by the estate, and the cash from that sale will then replace the real property in the estate for purposes of distribution to the heirs. There are conflict of interest issues here since the... Read more »

A POA is a legal instrument that appoints another person to act as the "attorney-in-fact" or agent of the person creating the POA (the "principal"), who can do things in the name of the principal as if they were the principal, to the extent set forth in the POA. The POA is only... Read more »

A beneficiary of a trust has the right to obtain a copy of the trust and receive an accounting of the assets, to include investment performance of the assets and transactions in and out of the trust. Your starting point should be a written demand on the trustee for both of these things. Upon... Read more »

A property can be foreclosed upon. The personal representative of the estate can sell the property. You need to provide more details and context as to how and why the property is up for auction.

You need to consult a Puerto Rican lawyer of title agent. While the notarial seal of another US jurisdiction is likely to be honored, the jurisdiction where the land lies will have transfer rules, filing requirements, and tax protocols to follow.

If the trust is the seller of the property, the sale proceeds need to be paid to the trust, not the personal account of an individual trustee. The trust then can distribute the agreed buyout amount to whomever is supposed to receive it. You will need a lawyer to look at the trust instrument and... Read more »

Most revocable trusts name the creator of the trust, known as the grantor, as trustee. Once the grantor has died, the trust typically becomes irrevocable. The trust should provide for successor trustees. It is unclear what the nature of the trust is, if there are beneficiaries who are minors or... Read more »

If the PR sells the property, the estate pays the taxes as part of the estate tax retrun. Have an accountant prepare the estate returns.

You can revoke at any time in writing. Ideally, you simply create a new POA that revokes all prior POAs. You should send written notice to whomever is named agent under your POA being revoked. That way, if they attempt to act, they are doing so knowing their authority or revoked, which makes them... Read more »

The procedural rules do not have an exception in their time deadlines for switching lawyers. Written discovery responses are due 30 days after service of them upon you. That said, the discovery deadlines in most cases in circuit court can encompass a 4-6 month range, and it is common for parties... Read more »

Of course you can challenge the Will. It is not an easy process, but if there was undue influence, lack of capacity, or the signature isn't genuine, those are all grounds to caveat the Will. You will have no chance of success without legal counsel, and you will almost surely need to pay... Read more »

A Will does not require notarization in Maryland, and in fact, signing before a notary public alone is insufficient to make a valid Will in Maryland. To be valid, a Will must be in writing, and signed by the maker in the presence of two witnesses who also sign the Will in the presence of the maker... Read more »

Yes. The alowance is in addition to the elective share. In adition, you reference the elective share "of the residual estate." The elective share is against "the value of the estate subject to election, reduced by the value of all spousal benefits" where "spousal... Read 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... Read 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... Read more »

It need only be legible. If you research old deeds, they are hand-written, single spaced, in cursive. Recording is charged a flat fee, up to a page limit. Thus, longer documents can be in very small, single-spaced text, to minimize the cost of recording.

Go to the land records, on-line, and... Read more »