I have some good news, and I have some bad news. The good news is that the State will not get your money if you die without a Will. The bad news is that the State will decide which of your relatives will get your money.

Maryland Testate Law, that is the law dealing with disposable property upon a person's death, is very complicated. Should you die without a Will, then a decision must be made as to who will inherit your property. To prevent bickering among your survivors, the State has predetermined the right of succession, the order of preference. First, your surviving spouse will receive everything that you own together. Those items that you might not own together, for example, automobiles, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, insurance policies without a named beneficiary, just to name a few, will be divided in the following manner: If your spouse survives you and you have minor children, then your spouse will receive one-half of the remaining estate. If your spouse survives you and there are no minor children, but children over the age of 18, then your spouse will receive $15,000 plus one-half of the remaining estate. If your spouse survives you and you have no children and your parents are both deceased then your spouse will receive all of your property.

And now it gets really complicated. If all of your children are alive at the time of your death, then they will equally divide the remaining part of your estate that did not go to your spouse. If some of your children have pre-deceased you and they had children, then the share the deceased child would have gotten is divided equally among that child's children. Wow! And don't forget we haven't even discussed your brothers, your sisters, your parents, your grandparents and aunts and uncles.

It is quite obvious that if you wish to control your assets after your death, then you should consider preparing a Will to designate which of your relatives shall receive your property. Further, it is only through a Will that you can designate who will get your heirlooms, those things that have great sentimental value to you but have little or no monetary worth.

Now is the time to think about writing a Will, while you have this article on your screen. Putting it off to a later date, or until you become ill or incapacitated, could cause your family and relatives great pain and heartache. Especially when they know you wanted your property disposed of in a certain way but, because you died without a Will, your wishes are not being carried out.

To leave me comments about this article or to make arrangement for a simple will leave me e-mail at die@scheinin.com or call me at 410-828-9363