One day you may do this when planning your will.  Most people call a wills and trust attorney in Maryland with one question: do I need a will, a trust, or both? The honest answer is that it depends on what you own, where you own it, and who you want to protect. Here is how the choice usually breaks down.

What a Maryland will does

Probate attorney Washington DC Most people don't really know how much power a will can hold. A will directs how your probate assets are distributed and names the person who will handle your estate. To be valid in Maryland, a will must generally be:

  • In writing.
  • Signed by the person making it.
  • Attested and signed by two credible witnesses in that person's presence.

A few points surprise clients:

  • Conservatorship attorney Maryland Handwritten wills are recognized only in very narrow military circumstances. The document you drafted at your kitchen table is almost certainly not enough.
  • Maryland does permit electronic wills, but the statutory requirements are specific and unforgiving.
  • A will does not avoid probate. It tells the court what to do once the probate is open.

What a trust adds

A revocable living trust holds title to your assets during life and passes them privately at death. Consider one if:

  • You own real property in more than one jurisdiction. A Bethesda house plus a District condo or a Virginia rental can otherwise mean two probate proceedings.
  • You want the value of your estate kept out of the public record.
  • You have a blended family and want to provide for a spouse while protecting children from a prior marriage.
  • A beneficiary should not receive a lump sum, whether because of age, a creditor problem, a divorce, or a disability.
  • You want a plan that works during incapacity, not only after death.

For a beneficiary who receives Medicaid or SSI, a supplemental needs trust allows you to help without disqualifying them from benefits. A trust can get complicated. The more you do in advance of a death, it is better for all involved. 

 

The step people skip

An unfunded trust protects nothing. If the house is never deeded into the trust and the accounts are never retitled, the family still ends up in probate holding a beautiful binder. Funding is the work that makes the document real, and it is worth confirming that it was completed. Work with a trust and estate attorney to learn how this all works. 

Maryland specific issues worth knowing

  • A surviving spouse may elect against the will and take one third of the estate subject to election when there are surviving descendants, or one half when there are none. That share reaches beyond the probate estate, so a plan built to sidestep it often fails.
  • Maryland imposes an estate tax at a $5 million exemption that is not indexed for inflation, plus a separate 10 percent inheritance tax on beneficiaries who are not close relatives.
  • Maryland allows a surviving spouse to use a deceased spouse's unused state exemption, but only if a timely election is made. That deadline is missed more often than you would expect.

The documents that belong with the plan and it makes everyone's life easier when these are done. 

  • A durable power of attorney for financial matters.
  • A Maryland advance directive naming a health care agent and stating treatment preferences i.e. breathing tubes or not. 
  • Beneficiary designations reviewed on every retirement account and policy.
  • Guardianship nominations for minor children.
  • A list of digital assets 

When to review

  • After a marriage, a divorce, a birth, or a death in the family. 
  • A move into or out of Maryland, Virginia, or the District.
  • A property bought or sold, or a business started.

Any plan older than five years.  It is important to review with. your attorney every five years.