A Trustee overseeing someone else's Trust is a fiduciary or someone who manages someone else's money/assets. In some situations a Trustee actually manages their own assets for their own benefit in which case their creditors could usually get at such assets. However, when a fiduciary... View More

No, the assets of the trust cannot be attached or reached based upon a judgment entered against a trustee, who is not also the grantor of the trust, and who otherwise has no discretionary right to make distributions from the trust to herself for any reason. In your description, I assume your... View More

Absent a pre- or postnuptial agreement that provides otherwise, a spouse has the right to reject whatever they are receiving under the deceased spouse’s will and elect their statutory share. The old law used to be a straight 1/3 to 1/2 (depending on whether there are minor children involved) of... View More

Your description is too convoluted to make any sense out of it, and you are confused about the significance and relevance of being on the mortgage versus having an ownership interest in real property.

Whoever is listed on the deed is an owner. Being on obligor on the mortgage does not... View More

An attorney cannot realistically analyze the state of a particular title without looking at the estate filings and the deed. That said, I'll try to give some general information below that might be helpful.

"Title" and "Deed" are generally interchangeable terms... View More

Generally speaking co-owners can each freely transfer their interest in real property. However, if there are survivorship rights already in the deed a Will is ineffective to transfer to someone else (because it will go to the survivor in the deed and not be a part of the deceased person's... View More

It depends on how the co-ownership is designated on the deed.

Title to real property can be held as “tenants in common” (TC) or as “joint tenants with right of survival” (JT). If the deed does not state specifically that two or more titled owners are “tenants in common” then... View More

Property is transferred to a Trust through means of a Deed or Assignment depending on whether the property has a ground rent. Different counties have additional requirements and all deeds require an intake (and in some cases affidavits). While deeds are not terribly complex, there are a lot of... View More

(1) I assume you asked the co-trustee who resigned if they have a copy of the trust, or when they last saw a copy or who last had it; if not, start there, and then go back in time to the families of each prior trustee, if any, and ask about old paper files still in existence, that might contain a... View More

Yes, but before you do so, make sure that the disclaimer achieves the results you want it to achieve. A disclaimer by law is treated as if the person disclaiming died before the decedent. If the Will directs that a deceased heir’s share be distributed “per stripes”, or by some other method,... View More

In short, yes. Maryland adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act which states that a contract may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because an electronic record was used in its formation. Since a Disclaimer of Inheritance is a contract, it can be signed electronically and... View More

Your question is missing the exact wording of the deed naming your hubby as a co-owner. If the wording made him a full owner upon Dad's death, then the Will's bequest would be ineffective. But if any interest became part of your Dad's probate estate, then that portion could be... View More

It all depends on how the deed was written. If the deed gave the co-owners survivorship rights, the surviving owner would own it all regardless of what the Will said (because there would be no interest to pass through the Will as it would have automatically gone to the survivor). However, if the... View More

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answered on Mar 2, 2024

The ownership of the property after your father-in-law's death largely depends on how the deed was titled when your husband and his father were placed on it. If the deed lists them as "joint tenants with right of survivorship," then upon his father's death, your husband... View More

If the deed is owned as joint tenants, then your husband is now the sole owner and the house is not an asset of his father’s estate, so it doesn’t matter what the Will says.

If the deed is owned as tenants in common, then your husband now owns 50% of the house outright, and the other... View More

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answered on Feb 29, 2024

When considering purchasing a home together with your mother, who is a recipient of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), it's important to understand how co-ownership might impact her benefits. SSI eligibility is sensitive to income and assets. However, a primary residence is not counted as an... View More

Before you do this, consult an estate planning lawyer! First, you would be making a gift to your mother in excess of the federal gift tax exclusion for a single donee in one year, which may not be of any consequence depending on the total value of your estate by the time you die, but it will also... View More

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answered on Feb 25, 2024

Yes, your mother’s trust can be the buyer, and you can be the seller, with a deed to match. This makes perfect sense if it truly is an arm’s-length transaction.

However, if what you are actually doing is gifting the house to her, then you should not do that without talking to an... View More

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answered on Jan 10, 2024

It's not inherently illegal for a lawyer to be named as a beneficiary in a client's will or life insurance policy, but this situation can raise questions of undue influence or conflict of interest. If your father's mental capacity was in doubt, there could be grounds to challenge the... View More

An attorney cannot realistically answer questions pertaining to someone's specific rights in property based on unknown documents without sitting down and looking at the documents in question.

That said, it would generally be "legal" for an estate to ask someone occupying... View More