Will Drafting in Maryland, 2021 Revised Edition

This publication focuses on the planning and drafting considerations that are common to all wills regardless of the size of the estate, and is authored by some of Maryland’s top estate and trust practitioners.

Danielle M. Cruttenden, Esq.; Michael P. Donnelly, Esq.; Frederick R. Franke, Jr., Esq.; Christine W. Hubbard, Esq.; Matthew A. Mace, Esq.

Will Drafting in Maryland has once again been updated by Maryland attorneys recognized as experts in the field, who continue to build on foundations decades in the making. It guides the practitioner through the complete planning and drafting process.  The book contains dozens of forms, from sample clauses that provide the practitioner with options to consider when drafting discrete provisions (such as those necessary to define and limit classes of beneficiaries or name guardians and trustees), to full renditions of different types of wills. In each instance, the legal and practical implications of these provisions, and considerations relevant to their use, are reviewed.

Revised and updated for the first time since 2017, the 2021 edition includes an estate planning questionnaire, a sample will, and a sample “contingent trusts for minors” will. The 2021 edition also addresses Maryland’s new Elective Share Law effective October 1, 2020; the Maryland Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act; and the impact of Executive Orders issued by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing for remote signing, remote witnessing, and remote notarization.

Click to view detailed Table of Contents.

Summary of Contents:
Chapter 1: The Intestate’s “Will”: An Illustration of the Law of Intestacy
Chapter 2: Developing the Plan
Chapter 3: Non-Dispositive Provisions
Chapter 4: The Will’s Basic Structure — Administrative and Dispositive Provisions
Chapter 5: Miscellaneous Provisions Concerning Guardians, Personal Representatives and Trustees
Chapter 6: Distributions — Trusts, Miscellaneous
Appendix I: Sample Disclaimer Bypass Trust Will
Appendix II: Sample “Contingent Trusts for Minors” Will
Appendix III: Executive Order Authorizing Remote Notarizations
Appendix IV: Executive Order Authorizing Remote Witnesses and Electronic Signing of Certain Documents

Pub. Date: January 2021
Pages: 274