Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Maryland
In Maryland my lawyer closed his practice and moved on and threw out my original notarized will. I have a copy he gave me but I know its not valid. what can I do to avoid paying another lawyer to redraft it?
1 Answer from Attorneys
An attorney ordinarily should not / would not throw out clients' original Wills upon retirement. Oftentimes original wills are stored with the court and not with the attorney who prepared them. You may wish to check and see whether your Will was stored for safekeeping with the Register of Wills in your county.
If indeed an attorney destroyed a client's original will without the client's permission, that person may wish to contact the Attorney Grievance Commission for assistance.
Of course, anyone can at any time (so long as they are competent) make a new Will.