August is National Make a Will Month and the perfect time to work on your will. A will should be a basic component of your lifelong financial plan and should be regularly reviewed and updated as needed. While we tend to think of a will as we age, anyone over the age of 18 who has any assets or property should have a plan to distribute these assets. This plan can include a will, trust, property titled with survivor rights, named beneficiaries on retirement and bank accounts, and transfer on death titles on autos.
A will is a way to distribute your non-titled property (anything that has no paperwork of ownership) including household items such as appliances, clothing, jewelry, furniture family heirlooms and other general items. Once you make your will, it is recommended that you file it with the County Register of Wills. That way a copy is securely stored, it is officially recorded, and available to your family members when they need it. In Montgomery County, that office is located in the Circuit Court in Rockville. Each time your will is updated/changed, you need to retrieve the old will and record the new will with this office. You should destroy all copies of outdated wills to avoid confusion during the probate process.
Probate is the process that your estate goes through after you pass away to protect your assets for your heirs. During the process, your designated representive is responsible for cataloguing
and valuing your estate, paying your debts and taxes , and, with Court approval, distributing the balance to your heirs.
If you leave no will, your estate does not avoid probate. You are leaving no instructions for the probate process about how you want your estate distributed. The cataloging and valuation process must still be done, but it will be up to the Probate Court as to how it is distributed.
In Maryland, if you die without a will and without any heirs or next-of-kin, your estate will be paid to either the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene or the county board of education.
If you have not protected your assets in other ways, and you die without a will and leave a spouse, children or parents, you might be disappointed at how the State of Maryland distributes your assets and property.
In the State of Maryland, the estate of a person who dies intestate (without a will) will be distributed according to these guidelines:
Use the occasion of Make a Will Month to have those important discussions with your family, prepare for the eventual distributions of your assets, and creating or updating a will. Seek professional advice. You can read about Maryland’s Estate and Inheritance laws at Estate and Inheritance Tax Information (marylandtaxes.gov)