Trusts in Carney, MD

Legal help with trusts for Carney, Maryland residents from The Law Office of Thomas K. Mallon in Towson.

The Law Office of Thomas K. Mallon, LLC provides trusts assistance for people in Carney. The information below explains the issues to discuss with an attorney and connects you with the firm’s original Maryland service guide.

Working with our Towson office from Carney

Carney is in Baltimore County, Maryland. The Law Office of Thomas K. Mallon, LLC serves this area from 1107 Kenilworth Drive, Suite 305, Towson, MD 21204. This is the firm’s Towson office, not a separate office in this community.

Maryland law applies throughout the service area. Where a matter must be filed depends on the type of proceeding and the facts, not simply on the location of the attorney’s office. Discuss residence, existing orders, and any pending case at your consultation.

Read the Baltimore County service-area guide for the original local context.

A trust is an arrangement where a trustee holds property for a beneficiary under terms the grantor sets. Three roles, sometimes three different people and sometimes all the same person at the start.

The roles

Grantor, also called settlor. Creates the trust and transfers property into it.
Trustee. Manages the property and owes fiduciary duties, meaning they must act with reasonable care and in the beneficiary’s interest rather than their own.
Beneficiary. Receives the benefit.

Revocable and irrevocable

A revocable trust can be changed or undone during your lifetime. You typically serve as your own trustee and keep full control. It does not reduce taxes or shield assets from creditors, because the law still treats the property as yours. What it does is avoid probate and provide a plan if you become incapacitated.

An irrevocable trust generally cannot be changed once made. Giving up that control is what makes it useful for certain tax, creditor and benefits-planning purposes, and it is also why it should never be entered into casually.

Living and testamentary

A living trust, sometimes called inter vivos, is created while you are alive. A testamentary trust is created by your will and comes into existence at death, which means it does not avoid probate.

Probate avoidance, and what that is worth

Property titled in a trust passes outside probate. In Maryland that means it avoids the Register of Wills process, the associated fees, and the public record that probate creates. For a family that values privacy, or that owns real property in more than one state, that can matter a great deal.

It is worth being honest that a trust is not automatically better than a will. For a modest estate that passes cleanly to a spouse and children, a well-drafted will plus correct beneficiary designations often does the job at lower cost. See wills.

Funding is the part people skip

A trust only controls what is actually transferred into it. Signing a trust document and then leaving the house, the accounts and the brokerage in your own name produces the worst of both worlds: the cost of a trust and the probate you were trying to avoid.

Funding means retitling real property, moving accounts, and reviewing beneficiary designations so they align with the plan rather than fight it. It is the step that determines whether the trust works.

Common uses

Avoiding probate and keeping the estate private
Providing for a beneficiary over time rather than in one lump sum
Planning for a blended family, so that children from a prior marriage are provided for
Managing property if you become incapacitated, without a guardianship
Providing for a beneficiary with a disability without disrupting benefits, through a special needs trust

Official resources

Talk with a Towson attorney

The Law Office of Thomas K. Mallon, LLC offers a free consultation. Call (410) 847-9075 or request a consultation online. The office is at 1107 Kenilworth Drive, Suite 305, Towson, MD 21204.

This page provides general information about Maryland law. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Maryland law changes, and how it applies depends on the facts of your situation.

Trusts resources

Read the full Maryland trusts guide. Bring relevant agreements, court papers, financial records, and a list of questions that relate to your situation. If you have received papers with a deadline, tell the office when you contact us.

Other services in Carney

Discuss your situation

or call (410) 847-9075. Advice about your particular matter requires a consultation. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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