Disclaiming an Inheritance

Filmmakers can depict a disconnect between a character’s surroundings and his or her emotions by superimposing a soundtrack that doesn’t match the scene’s visuals. For example, if the protagonist is lonely at a dance party, the film can show the room full of partygoers dancing to energetic music and then focus on the protagonist and change the soundtrack to slow, somber music, even as the partygoers continue dancing to the song that the audience was previously hearing. If you find out that you are going to inherit money from a recently deceased relative, you might feel like the protagonist who is not in the mood for a party. Everyone else is celebrating, and many of them have ideas about how they would spend the inherited money if they were you. They are incredulous when you tell them that you do not want to inherit the money, or whatever other assets the decedent’s will has designated for you. In Maryland, as in many other states, it is possible to decline to accept property that a deceased person’s will has granted to you. For help disclaiming an inheritance in Maryland probate court, contact a Washington, D.C. probate lawyer.

How to File a Disclaimer of Interest in Maryland

If you do not want to inherit the property that the testator of a will has decided that you should inherit, you have the right to refuse. You can also refuse an inheritance from a relative who died without a will, leaving you as an heir to the decedent’s estate pursuant to the laws of intestate succession. To do this, you must submit a written letter of disclaimer of interest to the probate court. The letter must bear your signature and a notary’s seal. The deadline for disclaiming your interest in a deceased person’s estate in nine months after the decedent’s death. The disclaimer is irreversible once the probate court receives it.

Why Would Someone Want to Disclaim an Inheritance?

When an heir disclaims his or her inheritance, the probate court interprets the will, or follows the laws of intestate succession, as if the disclaiming heir had died before the testator of the estate. Therefore, you might choose to disclaim your inheritance because you want the successor beneficiaries to inherit the money instead of you. If your father divided his estate equally between you and your siblings, but you are by far the wealthiest sibling, you might disclaim your share of the estate so that your siblings can have the money. Likewise, if your children are successor beneficiaries to your inheritance, you might disclaim your inheritance so that the property you would have inherited passes instead to your children. This might be less expensive than inheriting the money yourself and then transferring it to your children in the form of gifts.

Contact Tobin O’Connor Ewing About Giving Up Your Inheritance

A Washington, D.C. probate attorney can help you if you do not want to inherit property from an estate that has listed you as a beneficiary.  Contact Tobin, O’Connor, and Ewing in Washington, D.C. or call 202-362-5900.

Source:

usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2025/06/27/how-disclaim-inheritance-why/84330310007/