From the date of judgment, interest accrues at the statutory legal rate on the principal judgment amount at 10% per annum, simple interest (meaning, you cannot charge interest on the unpaid accrued interest). Simply multiply the judgment awarded by 0.10, then divide by 365 to get the daily rate.... View More

Yes. And this is most often something your real estate agent obtains. Most HOA's have a "resale package" that must be requested by the Seller, at a fee of $50-$200. The HOA then compiles its records, including open violations, and the package is delivered to the buyer within the... View More

Maryland law requires that rental units be livable with essentials like heat and running water. Whether a backed up drain makes property unlivable or not would heavily depend on the circumstances. A single slow moving drain probably does not render property unlivable but if there were no working... 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

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

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

Anybody can sue anybody for anything, and the person being sued will have to defend. There are various means and legal theories to pierce the company veil and reach the owner, but they all depend on a set of facts that your post doesn’t detail. You want a whole dissertation on all the ways the... View More

As the trustee of this estate, your primary responsibility is to act in the best interests of the beneficiaries. While forfeiting land for debt might seem like a direct solution, it's generally not a feasible option. Forfeiture typically occurs due to illegal activity, not as a means of debt... View More

While there is no legal process to "forfeit land" practically speaking if the owner defaults on the annual property taxes it would go into tax sale, and if someone else purchased the property at tax sale it would have the same practical effect as forfeiting. However, a Personal... View More

A common issue. A recorded easement may be extinguished by a new recording, executed by all. You may have claims for mis-use or over-burdening, but the recorded instrument grants the rights, whatever it says. The concept of "necessity" is irrelevant to a recorded easement. The neighbor... View More

And does "gave me" include recording a deed? The answer to that question will determine what any lawyer can tell you.

If no deed, simply refuse to accept it.

If a deed, consider selling it. Otherwise, you will need the grantor to join in another instrument renouncing or... View More

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answered on Jun 13, 2024

If you never signed any documents accepting the property, you may not legally own it. However, if your sister transferred the property to you through a deed recorded in public records, you would need to take steps to transfer it back.

To give the property back to your sister, you will need... View More

The answer is "it depends." It depends on the terms of your contract. Also, some title insurers slip in a form for seller signature that reads "you are inducing us to sell a policy of title insurance to the buyers..."

We never let our clients sign this. It creates a duty... View More

As a technical matter, yes. As a practical matter, why? The purpose of the Estate is to wind up, liquidate and distribute the assets of the decedent. It is not the business of the Estate to acquire assets. The PR will be closely scrutinized for this, and whether it is violative of their statutory... View More

Without knowing any of the context, yes, an estate may receive real property. You'd naturally want to coordinate this with the Personal Representative. 10 years is an unusually long time for an estate to remain open.

While not legal advice, I hope that this helps.

The answer with the least legal expense is to sell or gift your mother's half of the house to your wife. There will be transfer taxes, it may be a recognition event as to capital gains, and you will need to refinance. The alternative is to review the mortgage and find out if it has a due on... View More

The situation you describe comes up quite frequently (where someone owns property with their mom and/or dad, gets married and wants to hold the property together with their spouse).

There are 3 different state and county-level transfer taxes that come into play with real property... 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

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