MD Specific

Trusts, Estates & Probate

Maryland Probate Process: In 7 Simple Steps

Credits Available
Credit Status Total
Virginia CLE Approved 6 Total
OnDemand
5 hours 54 minutes
Richard Chisholm
Krista Robertson
Heather Sunderman
Randall Fisher
Meghan McCulloch
With Richard S. Chisholm from Chisholm Law Group, LLC + 4 others
Recorded March 09, 2026.
Product ID 101488

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Overview

Learn How to Handle Assets, Taxes, Personal Representatives, and More!

This step-by-step practical instruction offers essential knowledge of probate processes and best practices for handling each unique case effectively. Learn how to tackle crucial first steps; handle the personal executive; gather, value, and distribute all assets; and successfully complete the final accounting and tax returns. Arm yourself with the foundational knowledge and best practices you need to ensure a smooth administration from start to finish. Register today!

  • Don't overlook anything important: confidently navigate critical first steps.
  • Understand executor powers, duties, responsibilities, and compensation guidelines.
  • Learn how to effectively marshal and inventory all assets.
  • Pick up tips for validating, prioritizing, and satisfying creditor claims.
  • Get practical guidance for post-mortem planning, trust administration, and tax hurdles.
  • Put the decedent's affairs to rest by making distributions, filing the final tax return, and completing the final accounting.
  • Discover how to litigate deed contests, lost or contested wills, fiduciary misconduct, and more.

Abbreviated Agenda

  1. Opening the Estate
  2. Preparing the Personal Representatives for the Job
  3. Managing the Estate: Valuations, Spousal Share, and More
  4. Addressing Creditor Claims
  5. Post-Mortem Tax Planning, Distributions, and Trust Administration
  6. Handling Estate Closing, Final Accounting, and Tax Returns
  7. Maintaining an Ethical Practice
  8. Resolving Disputes and Navigating Probate Litigation

Related Topics

Product ID 101488

Credit Details

Credits Available
Credit Status Total
Virginia CLE Approved 6 Total
Select Jurisdiction
CLE

Agenda

All times are shown in

  1. Opening the Estate

    1. What to Do in the First 48 Hours
    2. Obtaining the Will and Getting it Admitted
    3. Locating and Notifying the Beneficiaries
    4. Determining if the Estate Qualifies for a Small Estate Administration
    5. The Estate Timeline - What Must be Done When
    6. Filing the Initial Petition With the Probate Court: Forms and Procedures
    7. Sending Initial Notices to the Public and to State Agencies
    8. Closing the Decedent's Accounts
    9. Obtaining the Estate Tax ID
    10. Laws of Intestacy

  2. Preparing the Personal Representatives for the Job

    1. Educating PRs on Their Duties, Powers, and Responsibilities
    2. Compiling Personal Representative Guide/Instructions
    3. Clarifying Executor Compensation
    4. Advising PRs on Potential Problems and Liability

  3. Managing the Estate: Valuations, Spousal Share, and More

    1. Marshalling and Valuing Decedent's Assets
    2. Initial Inventory
    3. Maintenance and Management
    4. Determining Elective Share and Homestead Allowance
    5. Spousal Rights: Electing vs. Disclaiming the Share
    6. Claiming Homestead Allowance
    7. Portability Rules; Claiming Unused Lifetime Exclusion
    8. Estate Expenses: Payment and Record-Keeping
    9. What to Do With the Income the Estate is Producing

  4. Addressing Creditor Claims

    1. Issuing Notices to Creditors: What Works Best
    2. Validating Claims
    3. Determining the Priority of Creditor Rights
    4. Selling Property to Satisfy Claims: What to Sell, How to Do it, and How to Properly Record it
    5. Satisfying Tax Claims and Liens

  5. Post-Mortem Tax Planning, Distributions, and Trust Administration

    1. Managing the Tax Consequences of Elections and Receipt of Non-Probate Assets (e.g. IRA Distributions)
    2. Tax Implications of Transfers
    3. Creating Trusts and Subtrusts for Multiple Beneficiaries to Receive Their Shares of the Estate
    4. What to Do With Bequests and Trust Distributions to Minors
    5. Post-Mortem Tax Planning Approaches: How Much Maneuver Room is Left?
    6. How to Calculate the Omitted Spouse Share or Omitted Child Share
    7. Guarding Disabled Adult Beneficiaries' Benefits Eligibility

  6. Handling Estate Closing, Final Accounting, and Tax Returns

    1. Tax Returns and Deadlines - Estate and Income, State and Federal, Decedent's and the Estate's
    2. Informal Closing by Statement of Personal Representative
    3. Compiling and Balancing the Final Account
    4. Final Distributions to Beneficiaries and Liability of Distributees
    5. Closing the Estate and Discharging the Fiduciary

  7. Maintaining an Ethical Practice

    1. Whom do You Represent? Conflicts of Interest
    2. Protecting Client Confidentiality
    3. Attorney Fees
    4. Practicing Law in More Than One State

  8. Resolving Disputes and Navigating Probate Litigation

    1. Will Contests, Deed Contests, Allegations of Undue Influence and Other Causes of Action
    2. Obtaining Court Guidance for Proposed Actions Regarding the Estate Administration
    3. Probate Litigation Rules, Procedures, and Evidentiary Provisions
    4. Fiduciary Misconduct, Liability, Disputes with Beneficiaries
    5. Effective Approaches to Resolving Disputes Without Going to Court

Who Should Attend

This basic level online seminar is designed for attorneys, accountants, tax professionals, trust officers, executors and other fiduciaries and paralegals.

Speakers

Richard S Chisholm
Richard S.
Chisholm
Chisholm Law Group, LLC
Krista N Robertson
Krista N.
Robertson
Chisholm Law Group, LLC
Heather L Sunderman
Heather L.
Sunderman
McMillan Metro and Faerber, P.C.
Randall D Fisher Esq.
Randall D.
Fisher, Esq.
Elville and Associates
Meghan McCulloch
Meghan
McCulloch
Offit Kurman, P.A.
Speaker bio
Richard S Chisholm

Richard S. Chisholm

Chisholm Law Group, LLC
Richard Chisholm

is the managing member of the Chisholm Law Group, LLC in Bethesda, Maryland. Mr. Chisholm and his firm represent clients with estate planning, estate and trust administration, business planning, tax controversies, and tax law matters. An attorney and a certified public accountant, Mr. Chisholm was an adjunct professor at Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University and The Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America, where he taught estate and gift taxation and estate planning for 15 years. Mr. Chisholm frequently presents continuing education seminars to fellow professionals and the general public. He is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, American Bar Association, Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants, and the American Academy of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants, where he is currently the Treasurer and a member of the Executive Committee.

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Speaker bio
Krista N Robertson

Krista N. Robertson

Chisholm Law Group, LLC
Krista Robertson

is an attorney with Chisholm Law Group, LLC, where she focuses her practice in estate planning, probate, and estate and trust administration, primarily in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and New York. Ms. Robertson is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the District of Columbia Bar where she serves on the Steering Committee of the Estates, Trusts, and Probate Law Community. She earned a B.A. degree from Georgetown University, a J.D. degree from The University of New Mexico School of Law, and an LL.M. degree from University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law.

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Speaker bio
Heather L Sunderman

Heather L. Sunderman

McMillan Metro and Faerber, P.C.
Heather Sunderman

is a partner at McMillan Metro and Faerber, P.C., where she focuses on the areas of wills, trusts, estate planning, probate, guardianships and family law. In addition, she is trained as a mediator and collaborative law practitioner. Ms. Sunderman has been appointed by courts to represent disabled persons in guardianship matters, and children in contested custody matters. She has litigated cases in many different areas of the law including divorce, guardianships, domestic violence and civil disputes. Ms. Sunderman earned her bachelor's degree from Allegheny College and her J.D. degree from Washington College of Law (American University). She is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association and the Bar Association of Montgomery County, Maryland. She is admitted to practice law in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

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Speaker bio
Randall D Fisher Esq.

Randall D. Fisher, Esq.

Elville and Associates
Randall Fisher

is a senior counsel at Elville and Associates. He practices in the areas of estate planning, probate and estate administration, business succession planning, and asset protection. Mr. Fisher earned his J.D. degree from Texas Tech University. He he has been elected to the Maryland Super Lawyers by his peers for the past two years. Mr. Fisher is a member of WealthCounsel, a national network of estate and financial planning practitioners who collaborate to ensure changes in the law are reflected in the work they do for their clients. He is also a member of a number of community and professional organizations, including Rotary International, Anne Arundel County Bar Association, District of Columbia Bar Association, Maryland Bar Association, Wyoming Bar Association, State Bar of Texas and American Bar Association. Mr. Fisher is admitted to practice law in Maryland, District Of Columbia, and before the Second and Third Circuit Court of Appeals. 

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Speaker bio
Meghan McCulloch

Meghan McCulloch

Offit Kurman, P.A.
Meghan McCulloch

is the practice group leader for estates and trusts south and a principal at Offit Kurman, P.A., where she guides the firm's efforts in estate planning, probate estate and trust administration, guardianships, special needs planning, and elder law. Based in Columbia, Maryland, Ms. McCulloch has been guiding the strategic direction of the estates and trusts practice since August 2023, ensuring that clients receive thoughtful and tailored legal solutions across Maryland. Ms. McCulloch is known for her ability to craft customized legal strategies that honor each client's unique goals and circumstances. Her clients consistently describe her as a trusted advisor, valued for her integrity, attention to detail, and commitment to their needs. Before joining Offit Kurman, Ms. McCulloch served as a partner at a Maryland law firm, where she focused on estate planning, fiduciary representation, elder law, and related tax matters. Earlier in her career, she managed the Social Security disability department at another firm, overseeing case management, administrative hearings, and federal court appeals while also drafting essential estate planning documents. These experiences have shaped her approach, allowing her to handle a wide range of legal matters with care and precision. Licensed to practice law in Maryland and before the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and the Maryland Court of Appeals, Ms. McCulloch has garnered significant recognition for her work. Her accomplishments include being named to the Estate and Trust Law Power List by The Daily Record in 2024 and earning the Rising Star designation from Maryland Super Lawyers from 2016 to 2024. Ms. McCulloch is dedicated to guiding clients through the complexities of estate planning and administration with integrity and care. Her leadership at Offit Kurman reflects her commitment to providing personalized and effective legal services, helping clients secure their legacies and navigate their financial futures with confidence. 

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