If someone dies what does one have to do? Please explain what the relationships are of : Register of Wills; Power of Attorney; Personal Representatives; Death Certifiers (?), beneficiary; the State etc., etc. and all those who decide on the distribution of the assets of those who die?
Thanks for your question and good morning..When a person deceases if they have a will the relatives would make application to probate the will and the will is attached to the application and it is filed with the register of wills/probate.The relatives would need a local estate lawyer in the county where the person deceased to file for probate.If the person deceases without a will then relatives would file for court supervised probate.The property then passes under the laws of intestacy(no will). The court applies the law and determines who the legal heirs are and their shares of the estate.A power of attorney is a document that allowed a person to act on behalf of a person in the event they become disabled but it terminates on their date of death.It is not a part then of the probate process.A death certificate is always issued in the county where the person resided and deceased.It reflects the circumstances of the death here.The register of wills is where the probate filings are made and heard.Here is reference to the register of wills.http://registers.maryland.gov/main/Here are the laws of intestacy where the deceased had no valid will.http://www.mystatewill.com/statutes/md_law.phpOne more reference about the processhttp://www.1800probate.com/probate-lawyer/maryland.html
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