How To Create A Trust In Maryland

Maryland Revocable Living Trust Form

TheMaryland revocable living trust is a legal agreement formed by a person (Grantor) for the purpose of placing property and assets into a separate entity with instructions for distribution after their death. Avoiding the probate process in the State of Maryland is the most obvious benefit of a revocable trust. Bypassing probate will allow the Grantor's family to claim assets bequeathed unto them in a quicker and less costly manner; and in turn keep the estate and list of assets out of the public record. A revocable trust can also be altered throughout the Grantor's lifetime and assets can be submitted or revoked at any time. However, once the Grantor dies, a revocable trust becomes irrevocable. The Trustee, who is in charge of the trust, can continue to manage the Grantor's estate as per the Grantor's instructions should they become mentally incapacitated. This is advantageous as an estate that is not placed within a living trust may be controlled by a court-appointed agent. If the Grantor has appointed themselves Trustee, the Successor Trustee will assume this managerial position.

Laws – § 14–407

How to Write

Step 1 – Download in Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word (.docx), or Open Document Text (.odt).

Step 2 – The first part of the revocable trust form must be complete with the following information:

Grantor's name
Date
Grantor's name and address
Trustee's name and address
Name of the trust
Type of trust (amendment or new)

Step 3 – Locate Section A of Article 4 and create a list of property with the corresponding inheritor's name which will serve as asset-transfer instructions after the Grantor's death.

Step 4 – Article 4, Section B demands that the Grantor select who will inherit all personal property after their death. Select either "The Beneficiaries" or select the second checkbox and enter the name, address, Social Security or Tax ID number of the individual to whom the assets will be transferred.

Step 5 – If the Grantor owns any pets, a Pet Caretaker must be appointed under Section C of Article 4. Include this person's full name and address. A second Pet Caretaker must be named in the event the first one cannot undertake the necessary responsibilities.

Step 6 – Carrying on under Article 4, Section C is the part relating to the funding of said pet care. The Grantor may choose to select the first checkbox and enter a dollar amount to be provided to the Pet Caretaker, or the second checkbox signifying no funding shall be provided.

Step 7 – Part (iii) of Section C requires the name and address of the individual who is to be in charge of monitoring the Pet Caretaker's expenditures. This is only necessary if funding has been provided to the Pet Caretaker.

Step 8 – Under Article 4, Section D provide the names, Social Security numbers, and addresses of the named Beneficiaries who will receive any previously undistributed property after the Grantor's death.

Step 9 – The next required fields to complete are located under Article 10. An amount of time (in months or years) must be established in order to limit the number of times a Beneficiary may request an accounting of the Trust's assets.

Step 10 – The name and addresses of both the Successor Trustee and 2nd Successor Trustee must be entered in the appropriate fields under Article 13, Section A.

Step 11 – Next, select one of the compensation options under Section I of Article 13; either no compensation (first checkbox) or reasonable compensation (second checkbox.)

Step 12– Go to Article 15 and establish the number of days an individual must survive the Grantor in order to make a claim on the Trust.

Step 13 – The Grantor's marital status must be made known under Article 17. If the Grantor is married, the spouse's name must be included.

Next, institute transfer instructions for the assets held in the Trust if it isn't possible to determine whether the Grantor or the Grantor's Spouse died first. This can be done by selecting the first checkbox (Grantor dies first) or the second checkbox (Grantor dies second).

Step 14 – If the Grantor has children, their names should be included in the Trust under Article 18.

Step 15 – To purposefully exclude any individuals or organizations from benefiting from the contents of the Trust, include their names under Article 21.

Step 16 – Under Article 22, the Grantor, Trustee, and Successor Trustee must sign and date where applicable to authorize the Grantor's power to alter or revoke the Trust.