Minors may inherit from an Estate. However, the manner of distribution differs greatly from the manner of distribution of inheritance to an adult. Minors cannot directly inherit assets or property in Maryland until they attain the age of 18. Any assets left to them will need to be held in either a Trust or be under the supervision of a court-appointed Guardian of the Property or a Custodian until they come of age.
If the decedent died with a Will, then the Last Will & Testament will likely speak specifically to how any minor beneficiary’s inheritance must be distributed. Often, a testator has an attorney draft their Will such that it specifies that any inheritance to minors be held in a Trust that is formed under the Will, known as a Testamentary Trust. The Testamentary Trust in the Will names a Trustee or Trustees and also specifies when and for what purposes distributions made be made. In other circumstances, the Will may specify the inheritance be added to a pre-existing Trust for the benefit of the minor.
Other testators have their attorney draft their Will to specify that minors who receive an inheritance do so under the Maryland Uniform Transfer to Minors Account statutes. With a UTMA account, generally, a Custodian holds funds for the benefit of a child and any funds not used for the child before he or she reach 21 years of age must be distributed to the child when he or she reaches 21. The Will may name a Custodian, or give the Personal Representative the authority to name a Custodian. UTMA accounts are simpler that Trusts. However, there are reasons that testators will choose a Trust rather than a UTMA custodial account. This may be due to the child having special needs and thus requiring that the inheritance not impede maximizing available government benefits. It may instead be simply a way to have more control over how and when the inheritance is distributed or not distributed.
In other situations, including but certainly not limited to the decedent dying Intestate (with no Will), a Guardian of the Property may be required to be appointed. A Guardian appointment happens as the result of the filing of a Petition and numerous other items with the Court. Depending on what will be held as an asset in the Guardianship Estate, the Guardianship Petition may be filed either with the Orphans’ Court or the Circuit Court. Minor Guardianship Estates that will hold real property, securities, or any other asset beyond cash, will generally require a Petition in the Circuit Court. It is best to have an attorney assist with filing a Guardianship of any type.