Wheaton, MD Wills & Estates Attorney
Planning what happens to your estate after you pass is important. While the law has some default rules about what happens to your money and assets when you die, these plans usually limit who can get your assets and lead to taxation that you can avoid with better estate planning.
Our attorneys can help you write up a will and set up trusts that can limit the taxes your family will face, give the assets to the particular people you want to receive them, and even set up trusts to provide income and support to family and friends who need it. In many cases, the tools available today will protect your assets much better than the tools available even only a few years ago, giving benefits to those who update their wills regularly.
For a free evaluation of your situation, call (410) 694-7291 today to speak with Rice, Murtha & Psoras’ wills and estates attorneys today.
Estate Planning Basics in Wheaton, MD
When you die without a will, Maryland’s “intestacy law” dictates who gets your assets. This passes most of your assets through a process called “probate,” where the court – through an assigned executor – collects your assets and passes them to the people named in the law. If you want any finer control, if you want assets to avoid probate (and thus avoid taxes), or if your family has special needs to take care of, then you should consider estate planning through a will and other instruments that our will and estate attorneys can help you prepare. Some of the basic concepts and structures involved in estate planning that might help in your case may include trusts and wills.
Probate vs. Non-Probate Assets
Some assets are jointly owned or otherwise put into an ownership setup, enabling them to pass directly to someone else when you die. This means that they do not need to go through the courts and the “probate” system, and they are known as “non-probate assets.” If you can maximize how many of your assets are treated as non-probate assets, you can avoid having them become part of the public record, and you can pass them to someone else, usually without taxation.
For example, if you are married and own a house with your spouse, that is one of the best examples of a non-probate asset. If you die, your spouse will own it in full, and there is nothing you need to do or set up to make it transfer that way. Other assets can be similarly set up, such as jointly owned bank or investment accounts.
You can also set up different ownership systems such as a trust to avoid the assets passing through your will and needing to go through probate in Wheaton.
Trusts
When you own something outright, you have a bundle of different ownership rights and interests in the property. When you put an asset into a trust, it splits some of those interests. For example, the “trust” now has title to the property, the “trustee” now has control over the property, and the “beneficiary” now gets the benefit of the property. In a simple example, this could be something like putting your life’s savings into a trust operated by your lawyer to pay an income to your spouse.
Trusts can be set up in a few ways to benefit your estate planning. For one, you can set up a trust while you are still alive that lists you as the trustee and the beneficiary, maintaining control over your assets. You then set it up to substitute in a different trustee and beneficiary when you pass so the items stay in the trust and pass to them without a will. You can alternatively set up your will to pass items to a trust rather than to an individual. This allows the assets or money to be managed by someone else, which is common in providing a minor child with ongoing income or providing for a disabled family member, all without necessarily giving them the money outright. In these situations, we can identify milestones or ages the beneficiary would have to meet in order to gain ownership of the trust, such as graduating from college, turning 25, or getting married, to name some common examples.
Wills
We have mentioned wills a few times, but it is worth going over what exactly a will does and does not do. Generally, a will explains where someone’s assets are supposed to go upon death. In most cases, this is going to mean giving everything to their spouse or equally to their children, but you can also set up a will to put money into a trust, donate it to your college, or otherwise carry out your wishes.
Wills can be used to include people in your inheritance who might not otherwise get anything, such as an unmarried partner, a close friend, or a charity you care about. You can also use a will to cut out people that you do not want getting your money, such as an estranged family member.
People usually think of wills as listing off who gets which particular assets, but these specific bequests are often a bit more complex and should always be prepared with the help of a lawyer. There are many things to consider, such as who should be your executor and who would get guardianship of your minor children, and our attorneys can help you weigh all important factors when making these decisions so that they ultimately reflect your wishes.
Securely Filing and Storing Your Will in Wheaton, MD
Your will is one of the most important documents you will write, and keeping it secure is vital so that it is easily accessed after your death. We can explain the best practices for storing your will at home and stress the importance of filing with original with the Register of Wills Office location nearest you in Wheaton.
Filing Your Will
Ensuring the original will document is kept safe and secure, even if you have a copy of your own at home, is very important. There are many unforeseen circumstances in life, like fires and floods, that could damage your will if it is only kept at home. Maryland facilitates safe storage for testators by allowing them to file their wills with the Register of Wills Office. You can do this with the office location in your jurisdiction after we have finished designating assets, writing your will, and having witnesses sign it.
While your will is kept at the Register of Wills Office, no one can access it but you until your death unless you give someone express written permission to do so, like our attorneys or your executor. If you want to access your will to review it, you will get a copy, and the original will be resealed.
Storing a Copy of Your Will
You may also want to keep a copy of your will at home for easy reviewing over the years. Putting it in a locked filing cabinet or safe is a good practice, or even storing it in a safe deposit box for optimal security. All of this said, only storing your will at home, in a safe, or another unknown location, and not also with the Register of Wills, is inadvisable, as this could make it challenging to locate after your death.
Reviewing and Updating Your Will in Wheaton, MD
Your will does not have to be set in stone after it is written, and you can update it, provided you do so by the appropriate means. Periodically, we can review your will alongside you, considering how your life and finances have changed since originally writing it. We can then execute a codicil according to the rules in Maryland, updating the Register of Wills Office with the new document to replace your previous will in its records.
Reviewing Your Will
It generally benefits you to review your will every few years or so after writing it, especially after a major life change or event. For example, suppose you have accrued significant assets over the past few years. Maybe your investment accounts have changed, or you have acquired new vacation or rental properties. Having more children or grandchildren or getting married or divorced are reasons to revisit how your assets are distributed and to whom. If you do not do this routinely, you might have an outdated will in place that does not reflect your current wishes at the time of your death. Instead, the probate court would follow the instructions of the will currently stored with the Register of Wills.
Our attorneys can periodically read over your will with you, reviewing the new properties you have purchased, how your savings or investments have grown, and how your family has changed so that your will is accurate to your wants. Do not let the assumption that your will is totally fixed after being written prevent you from writing your will, planning your estate, or seriously considering your future.
Updating Your Will
To update a will, you must execute something called a codicil. Through this process, you essentially replace your previous will with a new one. The codicil might be similar to your original will, only reflecting slight changes you want to make, such as dividing up inheritance between several more grandchildren, for example. Like with wills, two competent witnesses over the age of 18 must sign codicils, and the testators themselves must be of sound mind when making the changes. Once the codicil is executed, we can ensure it is filed with the Register of Wills Office so your most current will is the one on file. Do not delay updating your will, particularly if you know of specific changes you want to make.
Importance of Working with a Lawyer for Wills in Wheaton, MD
There are a lot of websites out there with forms and questionnaires to help you “write” your own will, but a lot of them are not sophisticated enough to take into account your unique circumstances. While these forms might work well for some people, it is important to check with our experienced lawyers about what assets you have, how you can cut down on taxes, whether you could benefit from using a trust, and what assets you can avoid being included in your will from the outset.
Even if you already have a will in place from one of these forms or from working with a previous attorney, you might benefit from updating your will. Especially if you have undergone a big life event like getting married, getting divorced, buying a house, having a child, losing a close family member, or having someone in your family acquire a long-term illness/disability, your estate planning and will should change to reflect these changes, too.
Call Our Will and Estate Lawyers in Wheaton, MD Today
Call (410) 694-7291 today for a free case review with our will and estate lawyers at Rice, Murtha & Psoras.