Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Maryland

A fully typewritten Will is acceptable in this State so long as the signatures are all originals and all the witnesses and planner are in the same room at the same time for signing. No edits whatsoever should be made to a Will once completed, as changing anything on the face of a Will may invalidate it.

Planners in this State are urged to exercise caution when using "form" wills without legal advice. At a minimum, a planner would be wise to confirm the following: 1) that the form Will was created specifically for use in the State of Maryland; 2) that the form Will is geared to the planner's specific situation (e.g., marital and parental status) 3) that the Will addresses things like posting bond and describes what happens if a beneficiary predeceases the planner. Of course a Will must be signed / witnessed in accordance with Maryland law.

In situations where a very basic will is desired, a fill-in-the-blank will might suffice. I've seen a few occasions where these were appropriately used. However, I've seen other cases where the old adage "an once of prevention is worth a pound of cure" applies with forms that fail to account for a possible contingency that winds up happening or at worst case are not properly completed or executed, leaving someone with an invalid bequest or invalid will.

Where the planner is in the military or is a first-responder (firefighter, law enforcement), it may be possible to have a will reviewed/prepared without cost by licensed attorneys (for instance through the Wills for Heros program).

The above post offers general information about the law but is not intended as legal advice and does not create any kind of attorney/client relationship.