Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland

Re: Protecting Mom' s inheritance

Real estate deeds and brokerage account statements should be easily identifiable as to the legal status of ownership. If your mother doesn't have a copy of the deed, you can find it in the land records at your county courthouse. You will need the "liber" and "folio", which a clerk can give you from the property address. It should say right on the first page of the deed whether your mother and stepfather hold the property as joint tenants, tenants by the entirety or tenants in common. In any event, if her name is on it, the stepdaughter can't impair your mother's interest by trying to sell or encumber the property.

With respect to financial accounts, the statements that are sent monthly or quarterly will state how co-owners own it. If it's joint tenancy, it will say JTWROS (joint tenants with right of survivorship). However, if the account is set up where either co-owner can make withdrawals or changes, you have to take immediate action to prevent the stepdaughter from withdrawing funds using the power of attorney. I suggest you contact the various broker representatives and alert them to the problem and try to put a freeze on the account. If that doesn't work, you may have to seek an immediate court order to prevent the brokerage houses from complying with efforts by the stepdaughter to extract funds from these accounts. You'd be wise to seek legal representation in this endeavor.

Re: Protecting Mom' s inheritance

With regard to real estate, deeds for property should clearly state who owns the property -- if a person's name is on the deed then it is difficult to sell the property or change the title without that person's cooperation. The problem though is that many people who are not legal professionals do not understand these types of documents. For example, many non-lawyers mistake the deed of trust for the deed itself. (I saw this with one of my clients just last week).

Any person facing a problem such as this would be well advised to seek an attorney consultation so that all of the particular facts can be examined appropriately. This is particularly true with regard to stock accounts and other similar accounts. These may have provisions that permit changes by one of the named owners even if other owners do not cooperate. As such, it would be important to get competant legal advice quickly before assets can be transferred, retitled, or otherwise dissipated.

My office is one of the largets and most well-known suburban firms in Maryland. I would be happy to chat with you or with your mother to determine whether myself or any of the other attorneys at my firm can be of assistance to you. Please contact me at your convenience if you would like to do so.

Lawrence R. Holzman, Esquire

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400

Greenbelt, MD 20770

(301) 220-2200

fax (301) 220-1214

Disclaimer: Please note that the posting of this response is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain information applicable to your situation. This posting is not confidential or privileged and does not create an attorney/client relationship.