McCollum & Associates, LLC Will Services

Welcome to Easy Maryland Will!   Why did we name it Easy Maryland Will?  Because preparing your Maryland will is now really, really easy, really, really quick, and really, really cost-effective.

There are only 3 steps:

(1) Complete the online data-collection form;

(2) Review the will after we email it to you; and

(3) Come in to execute the will.

We do all the heavy lifting.  We review and analyze your information, offer legal advice (if appropriate) prepare your will and make certain that it complies with Maryland law regarding substantive content and formalities of execution.  In addition, we are available to answer your questions by telephone or by email.

Just think, you not only get a properly prepared and executed Maryland will, you get a Maryland lawyer to communicate with you, to answer your specific questions, to give you specific recommendations, and to advise you about your rights, options and strategies.  And all of this is protected by the attorney-client privilege so that your privacy is ensured.

Best of all, the cost is only $399.  There are no hidden costs, hourly rates, etc.  In other words, no surprises.

So why are you waiting!  Let’s get started!!

McCollum & Associates, LLC, a law firm with offices in College Park, Maryland, handles legal matters in Maryland and in the District of Columbia.

Primary Areas of Concentration:

• Employment Law
• Church Law
• Probate Law

Other Areas of Concentration:

Administrative law; business acquisitions and other commercial transactions; church law; appellate advocacy; civil litigation (trial litigation involving business disputes, construction related matters, contracts, employer-employee relations, employment discrimination, real property, title defense, and torts); franchisee-franchiser relations; landlord-tenant law; real property law; trusts, wills and probate estates.

Visit our website for more information.

http://www.jmlaw.net

Insurance Proceeds and Payment for Funerals

After a person dies, one of the first things a family has to consider is planning for the person’s funeral.  Since funerals and burial services typically cost thousands of dollars, unfortunately, the next consideration quickly becomes how the funeral and burial will be paid for.  In most cases, loved ones usually try to determine whether the deceased person had an insurance policy to pay for his/her own funeral.  However, for several reasons, using insurance proceeds is not always the quick and easy solution to paying for funeral and burial expenses.

Although it would seem to be a good idea to purchase insurance that will be payable directly to a funeral home and/or cemetery upon a person’s death, in reality, very few people purchase such insurance.  It is much more common for a person to purchase a separate life insurance policy, payable to a close relative or friend and then to notify such friend or relative that he/she wants the funds from the policy to be used to cover the cost of their own burial/funeral.  In this typical situation, most people are not aware that even if the deceased person clearly states (in writing) his or her desires to have the proceeds used to pay for the funeral and burial expenses, the beneficiary of the policy has no legal obligation to use the proceeds in the way the deceased person requested.

While it is also typical for the beneficiary of the insurance to sign over his or her rights to the proceeds of a policy to a funeral home and/or cemetery, that does not always happen. When a beneficiary decides to keep the proceeds of a policy, the relatives of the deceased person have no legal recourse against the beneficiary because the beneficiary, and not the deceased person’s estate, is the owner of the proceeds.  Thus, relatives would have to pay out-of-pocket for funeral and burial expenses they may have assumed had already been paid for.

Moreover, even if the beneficiary decides to provide payment for the funeral and burial expenses from the proceeds of the policy, because the beneficiary is the true owner of the proceeds, he or she has the right to be reimbursed from the deceased person’s estate and has a priority claim to such reimbursement before payments are made to creditors and heirs/legatees of the estate.

For more information or for a consultation regarding your legal issues, please contact McCollum & Associates, LLC, at (301) 864-6070 or jmccollum@jmlaw.net.

New Maryland Law Regarding Small Estates

Maryland has streamlined its probate process for small estates. The new law, SB No. 535, which becomes effective on October 1, 2012, makes it simpler for survivors to deal with property left by a person who has died. You now may be able to convey larger amounts of property using this new shortcut, saving precious time and money.

Under SB No. 535, an executor can file a request with his local probate court asking to use the simplified procedure. The court may permit the executor to disperse the assets of an estate without having to jump hurdles often associated with transferring property.

You can now use the simplified process if the total value of the property in an estate has a value of $50,000 or less – or if the surviving spouse is the only beneficiary and the value of the property is $100,000 or less.

For more information on how to take advantage of this new shortcut or for a consultation regarding your legal issues, please contact McCollum & Associates, LLC, at (301) 864-6070 or jmccollum@jmlaw.net.