Cumberland County, MD Trust & Estates Attorney
Planning ahead for what happens to your money and assets when you pass is of vital importance for many people. If you have children or a spouse to provide for or assets to protect after your death, having a will in place is only just the beginning.
Our attorneys can draft up a will that will carry out your desires when it comes to inheritance. We can also set up trusts and design other ways to pass on your assets and accounts outside of your will. Our attorneys can also represent people who need help getting what they are owed under someone else’s will.
For a free case review, reach out to our trust and estates attorneys today at Rice, Murtha & Psoras by calling (410) 694-7291.
How Our Cumberland County Wills, Trusts, and Estate Lawyers Can Help
Our trust and estates lawyers offer several services that are often interconnected. Most of the concerns that our clients have deal with what to do with their assets and property to ensure that it is passed on according to their wishes after they die. This often involves setting up a will, but other “non-probate” tools are also used. Additionally, there are many things our attorneys can help set up that will help you affect your choices when it comes to end-of-life care or incapacity as well.
Will Writing
Writing a will is important for many people. If you die without a will – which is called dying “intestate” – then the standard, default rules of Maryland take over. These rules will give all of your property to your kids (if you have any) along with your spouse (if you are married). If you have no children or spouse, then the assets go to your parents (if they are living) or to your siblings. To change any of that or to make specific bequests, there must be a valid will.
With a will, you can ensure a split of assets so that your spouse can have enough to support them while still setting aside money – perhaps in a trust – specifically for your children. You can also ensure that some of your assets will go to siblings, nieces, nephews, or other family members that you may want to have a share. Wills can also be combined with other tools and trusts.
Setting up and Administering Trusts
Many people with the assets to do so choose to form a trust as part of estate planning. By setting funds or assets into a trust, you can have them administered to provide an ongoing income to your children, your spouse, or others. Many people choose to set up a trust to watch funds until their minor children grow up, but trusts are also often used to take care of family members with disabilities or medical conditions.
A trust is also an option for living donors, helping to separate out control of assets and the incomes they can provide. There are many reasons you might want to set up a revocable trust in your lifetime, and our lawyers can help you do so.
Living Wills and Advance Health Care Directives
While a will can dictate what happens to your assets when you pass away, “living wills” and more specific advance health care directives can help dictate what happens when you are incapacitated by old age or illness. In many cases, these instruments can kick in well before the end of your life and help if you are temporarily incapacitated in an accident, too.
Advance health care directives can help you explain what life-saving resuscitation procedures you want to receive. This and associated “living will” documents can also state who makes healthcare decisions for you and set up powers of attorney so that chosen individuals can access and manage your funds and accounts while you are unable to.
Determining Who Cares for Your Children
If you have children, having a plan for who takes care of them if you pass is important. This is obviously something you should work out with your spouse or co-parent and often involves difficult conversations with parents, family, or friends. Nonetheless, having a plan in place can help prevent custody fights or other unfortunate outcomes.
Other Estate Planning
We also help clients with other aspects of estate planning. There are many ways to transfer property outside of the terms of your will that you might already have in place, and our attorneys can help review these options with you as well. For example, owning a house with your spouse could mean that full ownership transfers to them when you pass, but owning a store or rental property jointly with a friend or sibling might transfer your share to your heirs according to your will. You can also set up joint accounts so that your spouse or significant other can continue accessing joint funds without needing any additional powers of attorney or an executed will to gain access to the account.
Will Contests and Defense
When someone passes, their family might not be satisfied with the terms of the will. There are also many issues where a will appears defective, multiple wills appear valid, or a will might have been drafted under coercion.
Call Our Cumberland County, MD Trust and Estates Lawyers Today
Call (410) 694-7291 today for a free evaluation of your case with Rice, Murtha & Psoras’ trust and estates attorneys.