Not Having a Will in Maryland

Many wonder what happens if you die without a Will. Each state, including Maryland, has its own laws that determine what happens to the person’s estate. The differences between each state’s laws do cause confusion, and your assumptions about Maryland’s laws may be incorrect and can cause incredibly negative problems.

When someone dies without a Will, the rules governing the estate are called “intestate laws”. When intestate laws apply, the deceased person may be referred to as having “died intestate” and having left an “intestate estate”. Your state’s intestate laws serve essentially as your Will if your family cannot provide an actual Will. Maryland’s intestate laws are often not what most people expect. Continue reading “Not Having a Will in Maryland”

Maryland’s County Registers of Wills – Phone Numbers and Addresses for Probate

Last Updated 4/9/19
For your convenience please find below the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the Register of Wills for each county in Maryland as of this date.  If you are opening a new probate estate or would like the assistance of an attorney, please feel free to contact me.

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Maryland Special Needs Trusts

Giving gifts and bequests to friends or relatives with special needs requires that you take into consideration whether it will affect the person’s government benefits. But do not worry, there are many ways of providing assistance to disabled persons, many of whom are very needy of your assistance because of their unfortunate circumstances. Forming a special needs trust is one way of assisting the person.

Ensuring the beneficiary will continue to receive their government benefits, such as Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), may require you to give the gift or bequest through a special needs trust, also known as a supplemental needs trust.

When providing such a gift or bequest you intend to improve the comfort of the person with special needs, not relieve the government of its burden. However, certain government benefit programs require the person be financially needy. If the person with special needs has assets in excess of $2,000, then the beneficiary will not qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). So, if you gave your child with autism $50,000, then their SSI, Medicaid, and other government benefits could stop and they would need to live on your $50,000 gift until their assets are back to being under $2,000. At the end of the day, the only one benefiting from such a gift would be the government. Because of this and similar issues, attorneys developed planning techniques by which the person with disabilities will receive the benefit of your contribution without losing their medical and other benefits.

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Maryland Estate Planning Guide

Please see my new page, Maryland Estate Planning.  The page is a summary for those seeking basic advice regarding Maryland estate planning.  This summary covers the most frequently asked questions and stresses my belief that most, if not all, people should consider some estate planning.  I welcome any suggestions for additional content.

Thanks for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Jeff Rogyom