Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Maryland

Re: Need Help!

In Maryland you can write your will to leave whatever you want to anyone, including children from a previous marriage. The only limitation is that regardless of your will's provisions, your present spouse (should they survive you) has a statutory claim to a certain percentage of your net estate. Children have no such claim -- only a surviving spouse has a statutory entitlement, and that's only if they choose to make such a claim. The surviving spouse can claim 1/3 of the estate if their are surviving children of that marriage, and 1/2 if there are not. So you can write your will however you want, leaving your assets to anyone. Your surviving spouse, if indeed they do survive you, can choose to "elect against the will" as it's called and claim their statutory share (1/2 or 1/3) if they want, but of course they do not have to.

It can be a little confusing. But to answer your question directly -- yes, you can leave half of your estate to your daughter -- no one can interfere with that.