April 2024.
Q: I’m not married to my partner, but want to leave everything to my partner when I die. I’ve heard that there are huge taxes. What can I do?
A: If you and your partner are “domestic partners,” the Maryland inheritance tax that levies a 10% tax when your partner inherits from you can be eliminated. You become “domestic partners” by either (a) registering your partnership as a domestic partnership with the Register of Wills, or (b) signing an affidavit that says you’re domestic partners and providing evidence of the “relationship of mutual interdependence.” Oddly enough, the law does not require intimate relations or even living together, so you and your roommate can be “domestic partners” even if you aren’t intimate; and you and your college frat brother can be “domestic partners” even if you live in different states, if you can prove a “mutually interdependent” relationship.
Q: I want my partner to be able to control my end-of-life medical care. I’m still married to the father of my children, because I need to be on his health insurance and the kids don’t want us to get divorced. Is there something I need to do?
A: Yes, you need to sign a medical directive. Because you’re married, your partner can’t be your “domestic partner” and doesn’t have any rights unless you have signed a document appointing your partner as your medical decision-maker. Once you’ve signed the medical directive, your partner will be able to make medical decisions for you as long as your partner is available at the time a decision needs to be made.
=
Attorney Tim Barkley
The Tim Barkley Law Offices
One Park Avenue
P.O. Box 1136
Mount Airy
Maryland 21771
(301) 829-3778
Wills & Trusts | Estate Planning | Probates & Estates
Elder Law | Real Estate | Business Planning