Probate is the procedure through which any debts owed by an estate are settled and lawful title to estate property held in the estate's name alone and not generally disseminated by law is transferred to recipients and beneficiaries. If the decedent left a will and had property subject to probate, the probate procedure starts when the executor or personal representative designated in the last will files the will for probate in a courthouse in the county where the decedent lived or possessed property. If there is no will, somebody must request that the court choose him or her as executor of the decedent's estate. Often the executor will be the spouse or an adult offspring of the decedent. Once chosen by the court, the executor or personal representative becomes the lawful estate.

Probate law in Maryland is complex, and resembles a minefield. One wrong word in a will can mean the difference between receiving an inheritance and receiving nothing at all.

Estate contests can be protracted and expensive. For this reason, it is recommended that anyone expecting an inheritance contact an experienced Maryland estate lawyer.

Because the law of inheritance has been evolving for almost 400 years, it is recommended that you contact a Maryland probate lawyer to guide you through probate.

The Basic Stages of Probate

Open the estate and notify creditors and beneficiaries

The probate procedure starts with the filing of a petition with the probate court -- in Maryland, the Orphans' Court -- to either adopt the will and choose the personal representative or, if there is no will, to select a personal representative. Notice of the court hearing must be given to all beneficiaries and creditors. On the off chance that a beneficiary or creditor objects to the will, he or she has the chance to do so in court. Notice of the hearing is published in a neighborhood daily paper. This is to endeavor to tell others, for example, unknown creditors of the decedent, of the start of the procedure.

The personal representative must notify every single known creditor of the decedent and take inventory of the estate property.

The personal representative then notifies creditors of the estate. Depending upon upon state law, any creditor who wishes to make a claim against the estate must do so within a time period specified by the court.

An inventory of the estate, including stocks, bonds, business interests, real property, among different resources, is taken. In a few cases, a court delegated appraiser values the property. Usually, however, an independent appraiser is contracted by the personal representative to assess non-money resources.

All bequests and burial service costs, obligations and charges must be paid from the estate.

The personal representative must determine which creditors' cases are genuine and pay those and other last bills from the domain.

The personal representative will have to purchase a performance bond from a bonding company to assure the court that, in the event the estate does not close, all fees and charges will be covered.

Lawful title in property is transferred by will or under the laws of intestacy if the decedent did not leave a will. In Maryland, the law provides that a surviving spouse, assuming there is one, takes one of the estate if there are no minor children, two thirds if there are minor children. The remainder of the estate is split among surviving heirs. Once in a blue moon, a distant relative may receive a windfall from a wealthy benefactor; such a recipient is informally referred to as a "laughing heir."

After the statutory delay period to permit creditors to file claims against the estate, and every single approved creditor has been paid, the personal representative petitions the court for the power to exchange the rest of the resources for recipients as coordinated in the decedent's last will and confirmation or, if there is no will, as per state intestate progression laws. On the off chance that the will requires the formation of a trust for the advantage of a minor, life partner or crippled relative, cash is then exchanged to the trustee. Unless the recipients of the bequest defer the prerequisite as permitted under some state laws, the appeal may incorporate a bookkeeping of how the advantages were overseen amid the probate procedure. Once the request is in all actuality, the individual delegate may draw up new deeds for property, exchange stock, sell resources and exchange property to the suitable beneficiaries.

To put it plainly, an appropriately drafted will, revised frequently to represent life changes, records of obligations, individual property and different resources simplifies the probate procedure. The less demanding it is for your own lawyer to follow your directions after you're gone, the less demanding the procedure.

If you require legal advice with respect to the probate procedure a lawyer can answer your probate questions for a moderate charge. An attorney can likewise help you set up a living trust to help your family avoid probate.

When we think of probate court, most of us think of the court that handles the settlement of an estate when someone dies. You hear about executors and Will contests, and while there is certainly a lot of that, many probate courts handle so much more depending on the state, and even the jurisdiction where the court presides. And probate court may be called by other names in different states. For example, in New York the probate court is known as the Surrogate’s Court, while in California, it is the Probate Division of the Superior Court that has the responsibility to deal with probate matters.

Besides estate issues, most probate courts handle conservatorship and guardianship matters to protect the interests of vulnerable people.

Conservatorship is a proceeding in which the court appoints an individual to manage and protect the affairs of someone (an adult) who is not capable of managing his or her own affairs due to incompetence because of mental or physical disability.

Guardianship is a legal proceeding where the court appoints an individual to care for a minor child if his or her parent(s) are no longer able to care for him or her or no longer alive. A guardianship strips away the parents’ rights to make decisions about their child’s life, but does not permanently terminate parental rights.

Some probate courts deal with matters of commitment of mentally ill adults and children, oversight of trust accounts, performance of marriages, issuance of passports, changes of name, partition of property, and even issuance of firearms licenses.

In a few jurisdictions, probate courts are combined with family court and handle marriage, divorce, adoption, foster care placement, permanent termination of parental rights, paternity claims, etc.

In some states, such as Georgia, probate courts may even hold habeas corpus hearings (to determine if a prisoner is being held in prison lawfully), or preside over criminal preliminary hearings. Probate court judges in Georgia may also hear certain misdemeanors, traffic cases and violations of state fish and game laws in counties where there is no state court.