By Tim Barkley. August 2025. Q: What happens if I don’t write a will? A: Your “estate” – everything you own that has no living joint owner or beneficiary – will be administered through “probate” and distributed under state “intestacy” statutes. Sometimes that’s OK,...
December 2023. Revised August 2024 Q: What happens if everyone named in my will is deceased? A: Under Maryland law, if you are not survived by the beneficiaries named in your will, your estate (everything you own that does not have a living joint owner or beneficiary)...
October 2022. Q: Don’t I need a will to avoid probate? A: Thanks for asking! But wills don’t avoid probate; they CONTROL probate. Anything just in your name when you die, that doesn’t have a living joint owner or beneficiary, passes through probate. Probate is the...
By Tim Barkley. August 2019. The phone rang. The voice on the other end was subdued, but firm. “This is Ricky. You met with Susan and me about our mother. My wife just passed away.” Pause. “She had a heart attack and died at work yesterday. I need to know what to do –...
