You need to discuss your situation with a lawyer. There are way too many unanswered questions. Is the home free & clear? Are there other heirs? Will the two heirs share it equally and get along in it? Do you want them to have the house or the proceeds from the house?

The short, and... Read more »

Taxes are imposed on the gross estate. There are exemptions, credits and deductions that are/may be applicable. You absolutely need to pay a CPA to do these taxes for this size of an estate, as well as have estate counsel for the estate administration (or trust distribution). There are too many... Read more »

In a word, yes, even where a Will waives bond the Register can still require a nominal bond to cover anticipated inheritance tax and other court fees.

Wills almost always waive the bond requirement for monies going to people who may inherit. However the government doesn't... Read more »

Your use of pronouns "someone", "you", "he" and "I" is beyond confusing. It is unclear who these pronouns are referring to, other than the "I."

I'll take a stab: the owner of the company died without a will, and you are... Read more »

If there is no Will and no surviving spouse, parents or children / grandchildren, the nieces and nephews of the Deceased (children of the deceased sibling) receive under "representation". For example, if there were 4 siblings who either survived or who died with their own issue, then the... Read more »

If the property was an asset of the estate, then the elective share applies.

Your question says you are in DC, but it is posed as a Maryland question, and I am going to guess the estate is filed in PG County, because, even though it's called Orphan's Court formally, in Montgomery, the hearings are in the Circuit Court by the Circuit Court bench, so laypeople never... Read more »

In Maryland, the way you get Letters of Administration is by filing a Petition for Probate. That opens an estate. If the assets are all in non-probate assets, they get listed separately in the Information Report.

If you are asking whether you can have the proceeds from the sale of the house before you agree that the house should be sold, the answer is sort of obvious. But, perhaps the real issue here is that you don't trust the personal representative or their counsel. If so, you should retain your own... Read more »

You need to have a lawyer review the will, the inventory and the accountings filed in the estate, before any useful advice can be provided. The estate may not have the funds to maintain the house (mainenance, utilities, property taxes, homeowner's insurance, mortgage, etc.) for five years, so... Read more »

His oral promises before death are not sufficient. The bequest needs to be spelled out in the Will. The Will must be filed in the probate estate when the estate petition is filed. Until the estate is opened and the executor receives Letters of Administration from the court, the executor has no... Read more »

Yes, but you need to have a basis, and you provide zero facts to evaluate on what basis you would challenge his will.

Here are a couple of general observations that apply to all estates:

First, upon divorce, his former spouse lost all legal right to receive any distribution... Read more »

The law of the state of residence where the decedent dies governs. Appointment of an executor or personal repesentative is set forth by statute. In an estate with no will (known as an "intestate" estate) a typical state's satute would list, in order of priority, those persons who... Read more »

It might be wise for you to review the estate with counsel, because you, as personal representative, will be personally liable if you disburse too much or the disbursement violates the rights of some other beneficiary or creditor. But, you have broad discretion to create advances to beneficiaries.... 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 »

The answer will depend on the law where your brother was domiciled when he died. If he was living in Nevada, you need a Nevada lawyer. In all likelihood, by the most common intestate succession framework, his primary heirs are his spouse (whom you don’t mention) and his issue (the daughter).

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 »

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 »

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 »

The estate has a stepped up basis and can sell it and avoid capital gains assuming the net sale proceeds are equal to or less than the date of death value. If instead the estate distributes the house to you and then you sell it, the result is the same. You will get that same stepped up basis.... Read more »