Estate Planning Lawyer in Charles County, MD
SoMD Estate Planning drafts estate plans for Charles County families out of our office at 10665 Stanhaven Pl. Ste. 108, White Plains, MD 20695 — off Route 301 between Waldorf and La Plata. Attorney Kathryn Batey handles the work.
Our core offering is the Essential Estate Package: a will, an Advanced Medical Directive and a Power of Attorney for your household — $1,500 flat, whether you are single or a married couple. That is the price, published, with no hourly billing and no separate charge for the meeting where we put it together.
What We Draft for Charles County Families
Simple Wills — Names who receives what, who administers the estate, and who raises your minor children if you cannot. Without one, Maryland’s intestacy statute decides all three.
Advanced Medical Directives — Combines a living will with a healthcare agent, so someone you chose can speak for you and your treatment preferences are already in writing.
Powers of Attorney — Lets a person you name handle banking, property and benefits if you are incapacitated. Maryland has a statutory form; the alternative to having one is a guardianship petition in Circuit Court.
Guardianship Designations — The clause inside your will that names who raises your children.
Trusts — Useful for a minority of households: blended families, a beneficiary who should not receive a lump sum, real property in more than one state, or a desire to keep the disposition off the public record. Most Charles County families are served by the package above, not by a trust. We will tell you which you are.
Where a Charles County Estate Actually Goes
Estate administration in Charles County runs through the Register of Wills at 11 Washington Avenue in La Plata, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Contested matters and accountings go to the Orphans’ Court for Charles County, which sits in La Plata as well. Your executor will be driving to Washington Avenue, not to Annapolis or Upper Marlboro — which is worth knowing when you decide whom to appoint and where they live.
Maryland sorts estates by the gross value of probate assets. An estate of $50,000 or less is opened as a small estate — a shorter, cheaper filing. That ceiling rises to $100,000 when the surviving spouse is the sole heir or legatee. Anything above the applicable figure is a regular estate, with the full sequence of inventories, accountings and creditor notice periods.
Two practical consequences for planning in this county. First, a Charles County house with any real equity in it usually puts the estate over the small-estate line by itself, so “we don’t have much” is rarely the same thing as “this will be simple.” Second, those thresholds count probate assets — accounts with a living beneficiary named and property held jointly with right of survivorship pass outside probate entirely. Reviewing your beneficiary designations is often the cheapest thing you can do, and it is part of what we look at.
How We Work
Flat fee, quoted before we start. Meetings in White Plains or by video, whichever is easier — a lot of Charles County works in the District or at Indian Head and does not want to spend a weekday afternoon in a waiting room. Documents drafted, reviewed with you, and signed with the witnesses and notarization Maryland requires.
Serving All of Charles County
Waldorf, La Plata, White Plains, St. Charles, Bryans Road, Indian Head, Hughesville, Bel Alton, Newburg, Cobb Island, Nanjemoy, Marbury, Pomfret, Port Tobacco, Benedict and the smaller communities in between. We also serve Prince George’s, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does estate planning cost in Charles County?
Our Essential Estate Package — will, Advanced Medical Directive and Power of Attorney for your household — is $1,500 flat. Trust work is quoted separately depending on what the trust has to do. Estate administration filing fees charged by the Register of Wills are set by statute and scale with the size of the estate; they are separate from our fee.
Do I need a will or a trust?
Most Charles County households need a will, not a trust. A trust earns its cost when there is a specific job for it — a blended family, a beneficiary who should not receive money outright, out-of-state real property, or privacy. If a trust is not going to do anything a will and correct beneficiary designations already do, we will say so rather than sell you one.
What happens if I die without a will in Maryland?
Maryland’s intestacy statute distributes your probate estate by a fixed formula, which frequently is not what people assume it is — a surviving spouse does not automatically take everything when there are surviving children or, in some circumstances, surviving parents. The Orphans’ Court also appoints your personal representative, and if you leave minor children with no designation, guardianship is decided without your input.
Where do I file to open an estate in Charles County?
With the Register of Wills, 11 Washington Avenue, La Plata, MD 20646, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Bring the original will if there is one, a certified death certificate, and a rough list of assets. Whether it opens as a small or regular estate depends on the gross value of the probate assets.
How long does it take to get a plan in place?
Typically two appointments: one to go through your situation and one to sign. How fast that happens depends mostly on how quickly you get us your asset and beneficiary information.
Get Started
Contact SoMD Estate Planning about the $1,500 Essential Estate Package, or call (301) 818-0389. Our White Plains office is at 10665 Stanhaven Pl. Ste. 108, White Plains, MD 20695.