Generally there are two types of Powers of Attorney in Maryland: Health Care and Financial. They each appoint an agent, the health care agent to manage health care and the financial agent to manage financial and related affairs. Most people should have both. These are generally NOT combined in... View More

Your uncle must be mentally competent and capable of comprehending the import of the document he is signing; otherwise, the only option is a petition for legal guardianship filed in court. If he is mentally competent to sign a power of attorney, he should sign two POAs: (1) a Maryland Statutory... View More

Although an attorney cannot answer specific questions about a specific Trust without seeing the Trust terms, generally speaking there is a stepped-up basis for inherited property. There are different kinds of Trusts and the post doesn't say what kind is involved here but for a typical... View More

Assuming your mother's trust is a revocable living trust, then upon her death the tax basis in the property is stepped-up to the fair market value of the property as of the date of her death. If you and your brother are sole beneficiaries of the trust, and the trust allows for the... View More

If the trust was created in Maryland (and likely has a choice of law provision that states it is governed by Maryland law), or the trustees are located in Maryland, then under Maryland law each beneficiary of the trust has the legal right to receive a copy of the trust as well as an accounting of... View More

Consult a lawyer about this. A lot depends on whether there is a will or not, and whether the children are minors or not. In addition, how your assets are titled and whether any assets solely in his name have beneficiaries (transfer on death or “TOD”) designated, have a big impact. As surviving... View More

Compensation for either a Personal Representative (a/k/a “executor”) and a “Special Administrator” of an estate is capped by statute, but the amount actually approved by the court is based on a “reasonable” standard. The only time there is a special administrator is when there is no... View More

Commission must be approved by the court (or consented to by all heirs) before being paid out but Maryland law sets reasonable compensation as 3.6% of the probate assets over $20,000 (a different percentage applies to the first $20k).

Note that a commission is viewed as income for work... View More

They should be honored in any state your mother moves to, so long as they were legally created and signed in accordance with the state of origin. That being said, I always advise my clients to make an appointment with an estate lawyer in the state where they relocate, just to be sure their... View More

As another attorney noted, planning documents valid when created remain valid when the planner moves.

That said, if the planner is still competent, it can be a good idea to re-do financial Powers of Attorney in the new state, among other reasons because institutions in that state will be... View More

When an estate is opened, the original will must be filed and it becomes publicly accessible. You can review the will at that time and decide whether you have a basis to challenge the signing based on what you know and can prove as to her mental capacity on the date it was signed. Also, the... View More

The answer to your question only really matters from a legal standpoint when you divorce. How the parties manage their money during marriage is entirely up to them. A spouse has no legal right to access their spouse’s inherited funds or to take gifts given only to them, if their spouse refuses.... View More

Assuming some or all of the funds will be payable to your late husband's estate, any additional funds will require filing a supplemental inventory and supplemental account (if a regular estate) or a supplemental schedule B (if a small estate). Basically a Personal Representative has an... View More

Generally, there is no right to get a copy of anyone else's planning documents while the planner is still living. So if the relative who created this Trust is still living (and assuming it is a typical trust), usually it is entirely up to that person to decide what, if anything (or nothing)... View More

When someone dies without a will, their estate is divided among the relatives of the deceased, but that does not mean every blood relative gets an equal share. For instance, if someone dies and never had children and both parents were deceased, but they had four siblings, then their estate gets... View More

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