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Many
married couples without children believe a Will is not terribly important
because there are no children and, thus, no worries about Guardians for
the children or Trustees to manage inherited money for the children.
There is
the further misconception that if one dies, the surviving spouse inherits
everything.
The law in
Maryland states that the surviving spouse only receives one-half of the
probate estate of the deceased. The parents of the deceased spouse receive
the other half.
The probate
estate consists of all property solely owned by the deceased which was not
directed to a specific person by a beneficiary designation, such as life
insurance or retirement benefits.
Since most
married couples want their spouse to inherit everything at the time of
their death, a properly written Will is essential to carryout their
desires.
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