LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

of

[________________________________]

(Maryland — Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §§ 4-101, 4-102)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Testator Declaration
2. Revocation of Prior Wills
3. Family Declarations
4. Nomination of Guardian for Minor Children
5. Nomination of Alternate Guardian
6. Specific Bequests
7. Trust for Minor Beneficiaries
8. Residuary Estate
9. Appointment of Personal Representative
10. Powers of Personal Representative
11. Simultaneous Death / Survivorship
12. General Provisions
13. Execution and Attestation
14. Self-Proving Affidavit

ARTICLE 1. TESTATOR DECLARATION

I, [________________________________] ("Testator"), a legal resident of [________________________________] County, State of Maryland, declare that:

(a) I am at least eighteen (18) years of age (Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 4-101);

(b) I am of sound mind and legally competent to make a will;

(c) I am under no duress, constraint, or undue influence; and

(d) I make this Last Will and Testament ("Will") freely and voluntarily, with full knowledge of its contents.

ARTICLE 2. REVOCATION OF PRIOR WILLS

I hereby revoke all prior wills and codicils heretofore made by me, and declare this instrument to be my Last Will and Testament.

ARTICLE 3. FAMILY DECLARATIONS

I am currently: ☐ Married ☐ Unmarried

Spouse (if applicable): [________________________________] ("Spouse")

Minor Children:

ARTICLE 4. NOMINATION OF GUARDIAN FOR MINOR CHILDREN

Pursuant to Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 13-501 et seq., in the event that I am the sole surviving parent or the other parent is unable or unwilling to serve, I nominate the following individual as Guardian of the person and property of my minor child(ren):

Primary Guardian: [________________________________]

Address: [________________________________]

Relationship: [________________________________]

Telephone: [________________________________]

ARTICLE 5. NOMINATION OF ALTERNATE GUARDIAN

If the Primary Guardian named above is unable or unwilling to serve, I nominate the following individual as Alternate Guardian:

Alternate Guardian: [________________________________]

Address: [________________________________]

Relationship: [________________________________]

Telephone: [________________________________]

ARTICLE 6. SPECIFIC BEQUESTS

I make the following specific gifts:

(a) I give [________________________________] to [________________________________].

(b) I give [________________________________] to [________________________________].

(c) I give [________________________________] to [________________________________].

If any beneficiary named in this Article predeceases me, the specific bequest to that beneficiary shall: ☐ Lapse and fall into the residuary estate ☐ Pass to [________________________________].

ARTICLE 7. TRUST FOR MINOR BENEFICIARIES

Section 7.1 — Creation of Trust

If any beneficiary under this Will is under the age of [____] years at the time of my death, I direct that such beneficiary's share be held in a separate trust (the "Minor's Trust") administered under the following terms:

Section 7.2 — Trustee

I appoint [________________________________] as Trustee. If the named Trustee is unable or unwilling to serve, I appoint [________________________________] as Successor Trustee.

Section 7.3 — Distributions

The Trustee may distribute income and principal for the beneficiary's health, education, maintenance, and support. The Trustee shall exercise discretion in a manner consistent with the beneficiary's best interests.

Section 7.4 — Termination

The trust shall terminate when the beneficiary reaches age [____], at which time all remaining trust property shall be distributed outright to the beneficiary. If the beneficiary dies before the trust terminates, the remaining property shall be distributed to [________________________________].

Section 7.5 — MUTMA Custodianship (Alternative)

As an alternative to the trust created above, I authorize my Personal Representative to distribute any property passing to a minor beneficiary to a custodian under the Maryland Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 13-301 et seq.). The custodianship shall terminate when the minor reaches age 21.

ARTICLE 8. RESIDUARY ESTATE

I give all the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, of whatever kind and wherever situated, to:

☐ My Spouse, [________________________________], if my Spouse survives me by at least thirty (30) days.

☐ Equally among my surviving children, per stirpes.

☐ Other: [________________________________]

If none of the above residuary beneficiaries survives me, the residuary estate shall pass to [________________________________].

ARTICLE 9. APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE

I appoint [________________________________] as Personal Representative of this Will.

If the named Personal Representative is unable or unwilling to serve, I appoint [________________________________] as Alternate Personal Representative.

I request that my Personal Representative be permitted to serve: ☐ Without bond ☐ With bond in such amount as the court may require.

ARTICLE 10. POWERS OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE

My Personal Representative shall have, in addition to all powers conferred by Maryland law, the following powers exercisable without prior court approval unless otherwise required:

(a) To sell, lease, exchange, or encumber estate property;

(b) To invest and reinvest estate funds;

(c) To compromise, settle, or abandon claims;

(d) To make distributions in cash or in kind;

(e) To employ attorneys, accountants, and other professionals; and

(f) To exercise all powers necessary for the prudent administration of my estate.

ARTICLE 11. SIMULTANEOUS DEATH / SURVIVORSHIP

If any beneficiary and I die under circumstances where the order of death cannot be determined, that beneficiary shall be deemed to have predeceased me. Any beneficiary must survive me by at least thirty (30) days to be entitled to receive any benefit under this Will.

ARTICLE 12. GENERAL PROVISIONS

(a) Severability. If any provision of this Will is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

(b) Governing Law. This Will shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland.

(c) Headings. Article and section headings are for convenience only and shall not affect interpretation.

(d) No-Contest Clause. Any beneficiary who contests this Will or any provision hereof shall forfeit all benefits under this Will.

ARTICLE 13. EXECUTION AND ATTESTATION

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I, [________________________________], the Testator, sign my name to this instrument as my Last Will and Testament, on this [____] day of [________________], [________], and declare that I sign it willingly, that I execute it as my free and voluntary act, and that I am at least eighteen (18) years of age, legally competent, and under no constraint or undue influence.

Testator Signature: ___________________________________________

Printed Name: [________________________________]

ATTESTATION CLAUSE

We, the undersigned witnesses, each being credible, declare that the person who signed this instrument, or asked another to sign for the person, did so in our physical presence and declared to us that this instrument is his/her Last Will and Testament. We believe the Testator to be of sound mind. We sign as attesting witnesses in the physical presence of the Testator, pursuant to Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 4-102.

Witness 1:

Signature: ___________________________________________

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Address: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Witness 2:

Signature: ___________________________________________

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Address: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

ARTICLE 14. SELF-PROVING AFFIDAVIT

(Pursuant to Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 5-601 et seq.)

STATE OF MARYLAND
COUNTY OF [________________________________]

Before me, the undersigned authority, on this [____] day of [________________], [________], personally appeared [________________________________] (Testator), [________________________________] (Witness 1), and [________________________________] (Witness 2), known to me to be the Testator and the witnesses whose names are signed to the foregoing instrument, and all being duly sworn:

The Testator declared to me and to the witnesses that the foregoing instrument is the Testator's Last Will and Testament and that the Testator had willingly signed the same as the Testator's free and voluntary act.

Each of the witnesses stated that they signed the Will as witness in the presence and at the request of the Testator.

Testator: ___________________________________________

Witness 1: ___________________________________________

Witness 2: ___________________________________________

Subscribed, sworn to, and acknowledged before me by the Testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by the witnesses, on this date.

Notary Public: ___________________________________________

My Commission Expires: [__/__/____]

(Seal)

This template is provided for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice. Consult a Maryland-licensed attorney before executing this document.