An English law of 1670, called the Statute of Distributions, standardizes the division and descent of personal property when there is no will. In 1704, the Maryland General Assembly formally passed the English Property Administration Act. An Act of the General Assembly of 1715 included, among other things, the distribution of personal property when a person died without inheritance, i.e. without a will: After payment of debts, fees and commissions, the distribution of the remaining personality was carried out according to the following formulas: Primogeniture was abolished in Maryland when the General Assembly passed An Act to Direct Descents in 1786. which came into force on 1 Jan. 1788. The law stated that “the law of filiation, which derives from the feudal system and military property, is contrary to justice and must be abolished.” This law of 1786 established the order in which heirs must inherit real estate if the deceased dies without inheritance. Unless someone made a will, land in Maryland was distributed in accordance with the firstborn, meaning that the land and its improvements (not personal property) passed to the eldest son. It was a British system under which an estate was kept intact rather than dividing and redividing it among all the heirs of each generation, which would ultimately result in none of the heirs having enough land to earn a living. The common law stipulated that in the case of land, only descendants, not ancestors, could inherit and that heirs should be thoroughbreds. The division of a dying person`s property was carried out according to the following formulas. Below is a table that gives a quick overview of the different estate situations in Maryland: If the deceased dies without a spouse and without issue, but still has living relatives, he will inherit the entire estate in equal shares. Intestate succession simply means who will inherit the property and assets, the order to whom the state will give an inheritance if there is no will.
Let`s look at some common examples of scenarios using Maryland`s intestate inheritance law to show who would inherit an estate if a person died without a will. Then come a spouse and descendants, but not minor children (that is, there are children, but they are adults). The spouse would inherit the first $40,000 and half of the rest. The descendants would inherit equally the other half that remains. First, read our detailed article on the probate process. If you need help planning for the future, contact us now and register for our free online webinar on estate planning. And be sure to download a free copy of An Introduction to Resolving an Estate by Estate, written by Maryland estate attorneys Greg Jimeno and Frank Gray. While it may not be exactly what your family wants, you can stick to it – which is why it`s so important to make a will and conduct proper estate planning. Below is an overview of estate laws and why you may want to work with an estate planning lawyer to avoid future problems for your family.
Maryland law states that in the event that there is no surviving spouse or problem (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.), the personal representative distributes the estate to the deceased`s parents when they live. In the event that the deceased was predeceased by his parents, the estate would be divided between the brothers and sisters of the deceased. If the deceased was predeceased by his brothers and sisters, the estate would be divided among the expenses of his brothers and sisters (nieces, nephews, great-nieces and grandnephews, etc.). In general, Maryland says that the portion of the estate to be distributed to the surviving spouse depends on whether or not there are minor children or children shared by the deceased and surviving spouse. There are other factors that may come into play. In such cases, it is important to consult with an experienced attorney in Maryland to understand each individual situation. In the event that no descendant or other relative can be found, which is quite rare, a Maryland estate is held in trust. Once the property is sold, it is paid to either the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene or a county board of education. The assets of Maryland residents who died without wills or other estate planning documents are becoming a unique legal situation. The state`s statutory inheritance laws come into effect, which determine who inherits a person`s estate and how much each person receives. In this legal scenario, the deceased has a spouse and relatives who are still alive, but no descendants.
Unique is that the duration of the marriage plays a central role in inheritance. Intestate succession refers to a situation in which a person dies without a will. As in many U.S. states, Maryland law decides who inherits the assets once the assets have been inventoried by state authorities. In addition, these laws establish a priority for who inherits property first and the percentage of the deceased`s estate that each person can receive. As a rule, registers of testamentary offices or orphans` courts at the district level supervise these tasks. If you died with a spouse but no other descendants or relatives, your spouse would inherit the entire estate. This website provides legal information, not legal advice. We strive to ensure the accuracy of the information and to clearly explain your options. However, we do not provide legal advice – applying the law to your personal situation. For legal advice, you should consult a lawyer.
The Maryland Thurgood Marshall State Law Library, a judicial agency of the Maryland Judiciary, sponsors this website. In the absence of specific attribution to the file or copyright, the Maryland Thurgood Marshall State Law Library may own the copyright in portions of this site. You are free to copy the information for your own use or other non-commercial purposes in the following language: “Source: Maryland`s People`s Law Library – www.peoples-law.org. © Thurgood Marshall State Law Library of Maryland, 2022. The evolution of your estate after all valid debts have been paid depends on the following factors: If there are no descendants or relatives living in the direct line, the surviving spouse is entitled to the entire estate. Maryland Intestate Estate: Laws Governing Inheritance When a Will Does Not Exist Maryland`s intestate inheritance laws then examine how the net estate is divided in a straight line among surviving descendants. The law stipulates that net wealth (after deduction of the spouse`s share) is divided “by representation”. This means that the property is divided equally as 1) the number of children of the deceased who survived the deceased, plus 2) the number of children of the deceased who did not survive, but whose living descendants survived the deceased. Each child of the deceased who survived the deceased receives a share, and each living descendant of the non-surviving children of the deceased also receives a share. Assets that would have passed through a will are affected by statutory inheritance laws, as are those where one person is the sole owner. Examples: Be sure to watch our video of estate planning attorney Frank Gray walking you through the laws of legal success and what happens if there is no will. Suppose there are no surviving grandparents or living descendants of grandparents.
In this case, the personal representative distributes one quarter of the net assets equally to each pair of surviving great-grandparents or their surviving dependants or living descendants according to the above scheme. In Maryland, if you die without a will, dying is called intestate. This means that the estate of the deceased person must follow the government`s estate plan for you, the laws of intestate fill in the gaps of who gets what from the estate. If you don`t have a will, Maryland`s intestate laws require your personal representative to distribute your estate exactly as noted above, and administering your estate will be much more expensive and take much longer.