An Order that appoints a person as either guardian of the person or guardian of the property (or both) over an individual.

While the concepts are analogous, there are important differences, but in many guardianships, the guardian has the same rights and powers as a parent has over an unemancipated (or minor) child.

You can nominate a guardian in your Will or other estate planning documents, but the Court ultimately chooses who will be your guardian (or the guardian of your minor child).

A minor may express their wishes as to who should be their guardian, but the Court has the ultimate authority over whom to appoint as guardian.

A person who is of close enough familial relationship that the Maryland Code considers them an interested person in a guardianship case.

The Court is ultimate guardian and guardianships can be modified upon motion and the discretion of the Court.

Potentially. There is some case law that states that a person can execute estate planning documents even while under a guardianship, but this is a very fact intensive analysis. It is also possible to request the Court’s permission to have the ward execute estate planning documents.

Regarding minor children, custody typically involves a biological parent while guardianship usually involves a third party that is not a biological parent.Guardianship of minor children normally occurs when both of their biological parents are deceased, unfit, or unwilling to care for them. One notable exception is when a minor child inherits or is awarded money or property, because they cannot accept it in their own name. In this situation, the minor child needs a guardian of property to manage that inheritance or award. Oftentimes, a parent is appointed their guardian of property for this purpose

An interested person in the estate, intestate heir, or a person (or institution) named in a prior will.

Six (6) months from the date of the appointment of the Personal Representative (also known as an Executor in other states).

The “formalities” of execution have not been followed, lack of capacity, product of undue influence, product of an insane delusion, fraud, or duress.

Unsecured creditors must file a claim within six (6) months of the date of death.

Peace of mind in knowing your wishes for your assets will be fulfilled and overriding the default Maryland Code will whereby half of your assets are left to your surviving spouse and the other half to your children (or if you do not have children, then half to your parents).

It depends on the complexity of the necessary plan and components thereof. For the bulk of our plans we quote a flat fee for the planning work at the conclusion of our complimentary initial consultation.

Our most basic estate planning for clients includes a will, power of attorney and advance medical directive. This provides for testamentary (after death) and incapacity planning for our clients.

It is useful to review your estate plan upon any major life events by you or the persons named in the estate plan (e.g., birth, death, marriage, divorce, retirement, etc…) or about every five years to make sure it still comports with your wishes.

Your estate will pass by intestate succession, which is determined by the Maryland legislature. In most instances it will NOT all go to your surviving spouse.

It is a trust that allows the grantor (the person creating the trust) to amend it during the course of their life including the ability to move property in and out of the trust.

To make sure that assets are properly titled in the trust.

Generally your estate planning documents are effective in a new state as long as they were properly executed in the prior state.

If the relative is living, you can ask. If they are deceased and you know that they previously consulted with an attorney, consider checking with that attorney. There may be issues of confidentiality, but it’s an option nonetheless.

If the relative is living, you can ask. If they are deceased and you know that they previously consulted with an attorney, consider checking with that attorney. There may be issues of confidentiality, but it’s an option nonetheless.

Most states have a Register of Wills or other probate authority that lets individuals deposit a will during their lifetime. If your relative is deceased, contact your local authority and ask if they have their will on file.

Also, most states legally require anyone in possession of a will of a deceased person to deliver that will to the probate authority. If you are sure a will exists, and you know who is in possession, remind them of this.

The first and most important thing to consider is whether you’re comfortable with the lawyer you consult. Do they seem concerned about your issues? Do you get the sense that you can trust them? If the answer to either of these is no, you should move on and see another lawyer.

Once you’ve chosen a lawyer, they should explain to you how property is divided in your state when someone dies without a will. They should explain the process of opening an estate, and give you a clear idea of what they’ll charge to help you through that process. You should also ask whether there are state or federal estate taxes to consider.

Yes, you can file a Caveat in order to determine the validity of a will. However, we recommend that you seek counsel in doing so. Proving duress, incapacity, or undue influence is a complex and challenging procedure.

In the state of Maryland, there is no inheritance tax for bequests to children, grandchildren, later descendants, or to parents, grandparents, siblings, or spouses. There is an inheritance tax for bequest to nieces, nephews, and beneficiaries unrelated to you by blood.

The inheritance tax applies to assets that pass by beneficiary designation, by payable-on-death designation, and by will or trust.

Yes. If you are in possession of a will, you must turn it over to the authority that handles probate in your state.

The general American rule is that each party pays its own attorney’s fees. You can most likely use the assets in the estate to defend the contest to the will. This is the rule in Maryland, but if you live in a different state, you should check the law to be sure. We strongly recommend seeking counsel in a case involving a contest to a will.

Many states do allow copies of wills to be admitted to probate, but there are statutory guidelines for overcoming a presumption that the original will was destroyed (intending to revoke the will). We suggest consulting the law about this specific to your state.

Here in Maryland, the Waiver of Notice can serve multiple purposes. Typically, a party waives the right to receive notice that a personal representative has been appointed in the estate (and thus saves the estate the cost of certified mailing of such notice).

The form that is used in Maryland, RW1101, allows the person waiving notice to waive other notifications from the Register of Wills, such as Notice of filing the required administration account(s), Notice of the payment of attorney’s fees and personal representative’s commissions, and more.

A person who signs the Waiver of Notice can revoke the waiver, provided they serve that waiver on the personal representative.

Typically speaking, yes. In what most attorneys would consider to be a well-drafted will, the executor is given the authority to make decisions on who gets a certain asset (such as personal property), so long as the assets are divided as closely as possible to the shares designated by the decedent.

Some descendants will make specific bequests (for example, “my antique doll collection to my niece, Rhoda”) and some jurisdictions allow the decedent to leave a “personal property memorandum” which is a laundry list of “who gets what.”

If the executor refuses to acknowledge the specific bequests made in the will, there may be a cause of action by the aggrieved party.

In most jurisdictions, there is no “reading of the will” and the will must be submitted to a Register of Wills or similar body of the court as soon as possible after the death of the person who wrote the will.

The will becomes a publicly available document, and if you are named in it, you have certain rights to be notified of all proceedings in the estate.

If the executor has not delivered the will to the proper office of the court, you may be able to open an estate yourself and seek a court order requiring them to produce the will.

You will often find that your local probate office or Register of Wills is very helpful in telling you how the process works. Employees of the courts cannot offer legal advice, but they can tell you which forms need to be filed to get the process started.

That being said, if a significant amount of time has passed between the relative’s death, you may want to have the executor/personal representative removed. If the family members cannot encourage the executor to do his/her job, you should seek counsel to move the process along promptly. The beneficiaries may have other rights if the executor has breached his/her duty to the estate.

No. The law does not require that a person who has written a will notify anyone of the contents of the will.

We generally advise clients not to tell their beneficiaries that they are included in the will. You may tell the executor/personal representative named in the will where to find it, but otherwise keep the contents of the will to yourself.

A person that is designated (whether by the Court or planning document) to control property for another or make healthcare decisions on their behalf.