Estate Administration
Every family faces a unique set of challenges after the death of a loved one. The Roy Law Firm provides a full-service approach to Estate Administration that minimizes headaches, transfers assets as quickly as possible, ensures the right choices are made at every crossroad and all legal requirements are satisfied within the legal deadlines. All of this is done with efficiency and compassion during a difficult time.
Probate
What is Probate?
Probate is a court proceeding brought to deal with those assets that a deceased person owned at the time of death and which did not pass to others through some non-judicial or informal process. It is not a "do it yourself" process.
Typical assets that cannot be transferred without probate are real property, and bank, credit union, and brokerage accounts that have not been designated "joint and survivor" or "transfer on death."
Probate has nothing to do with taxes. Probate can be required whether the person died with a valid will (called "testate") or without a valid will (called "intestate").
The two main purposes of probate are to:
• Change the title of assets that were owned by a deceased person to his or her devisees or heirs; and
• Give the deceased person's creditors an opportunity to make their claims against the estate.
Disadvantages of Probate
Although probate is easier in Maryland than in most other states, it does have many and major disadvantages.
First, probate can be a long and painstaking process. A probate cases usually takes from three months to two years from start to finish. There are many probate cases that take even longer. As with all court proceedings, it cannot be hurried and has its own required formalities.
Another major disadvantage of probate is that it is public. In Maryland, the law requires that the probate court records list out your assets and state their value. Those records, which include your will, are open to the public. The records are temporarily not available on the internet, but that will change in the near future.
This leaves the surviving spouse or other heirs vulnerable to financial scam artists who have unrestricted access to the amount and types of the surviving spouse's or other beneficiaries' assets. A third major disadvantage of probate is that the courts in one state have no authority over real property in another state. Therefore, probate will have to be done in every state where the deceased owned real estate at the time of death unless it was passed by a survivorship right.
Maryland allows you to waive the executor's bond, but unless your will is carefully written will, the probate court may require that your executor or administrator post a financial bond to ensure that he or she fulfills their duties. Many people named executor cannot get such a bond.
According to Maryland Law, allowable Personal Representative's commissions and Attorney Fees are based on a percentage of the gross estate. Our fees are based on the allowable Personal Representative's commissions, and as with all estate
planning and administration matters that we accept, we will have an
agreement with our client that is fixed before we begin the work. We understand the difficult times associated with an administration, and we want our cients to be comfortable communicating with us regularly, so we will never send an hourly bill for a letter, an email, or a call. We want to be there for our clients when they need us.
We stand ready to assist you with the administration of your loved one's estate.
To get started, click here.