https://www.byronforhoco.com/about daily 0.75 2026-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/8925bca1-756c-4f13-92df-d322362866dc/20190622_153641.jpg About - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/1a60adc0-e9cc-465c-9ead-8d04a832a203/PXL_20210629_195709809.jpg About - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.byronforhoco.com/home daily 0.75 2025-03-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/e209898c-0742-4b2f-8b51-a7f60894f469/Courthouse-17.jpg Home https://www.byronforhoco.com/unavailable daily 0.75 2022-10-02 https://www.byronforhoco.com/banned daily 0.75 2022-10-02 https://www.byronforhoco.com/inthenews daily 0.75 2026-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/6bf25014-8f58-4d1a-931c-d58699600dd6/1420.png In the News - Make it stand out See excerpts of article below: Like many states, Maryland places a few restrictions on who can manage an estate. Personal representatives must be older than 18, mentally competent, and cannot have been convicted of a serious crime that reflects poorly on their trustworthiness, like fraud. Those rules are common. But Maryland is alone among neighboring states in preventing noncitizens from serving as personal representatives, said Byron E. Macfarlane, the register of wills for Howard County. He testified in favor of the legislation. The restriction comes up consistently, he said, and can push surviving relatives to hire an attorney to serve as personal representative for an estate. That’s cost-prohibitive for some families, Macfarlane said. “I worry that this barrier to access to our system may force people to dispose of those assets outside of the normal process,” he told lawmakers. Macfarlane told lawmakers that registers of wills use a variety of tools to ensure they’re dealing with the right people and root out attempted fraud, including notarized affidavits and shared financial documents. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/7702f651-5735-4c5d-9592-b73d95942fb8/Untitled.png In the News - See excerpts of article below: “If you can find me one human being in Howard County who says we should go back to the old court, who wasn’t a judge themselves or related to a judge, I would be surprised.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/19d31792-b96e-48a4-a245-0ac9c0dcb2b3/OC.jpg In the News - See excerpts of article below: “If you can find me one human being in Howard County who says we should go back to the old court, who wasn’t a judge themselves or related to a judge, I would be surprised.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/cd992f79-a0c1-4bf6-84d9-de9a17174880/1.jpg In the News - Make it stand out One of the best ways allies can move the needle is when they’re with family, friends, or at work, and conversation is either hostile or not inclusive of the LGBTQIA+ community, said Byron E. Macfarlane, register of wills for Howard County, who is also gay. “Those are places where we may feel our professional or our familial standing is at risk if we challenge a prejudicial policy or viewpoint,” Macfarlane said. “Will I be demoted or fired or will I be exiled or disinherited if I stand up and say something? An ally actually may be a more effective advocate for an LGBTQIA+ colleague or family member because they’re not fighting for themselves, but for selflessly for others.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/ce3f1a8b-e18e-46f7-b44c-51137687ba7d/PXL_20240712_161954677.jpg In the News - Make it stand out In a letter released today by the Office of Legislative Audits, which audits all state agencies every three to four years, it stated: “We have conducted a fiscal compliance audit of the Office of the Register of Wills for Howard County, Maryland for the period beginning February 24, 2020 and ending November 15, 2023. Our audit did not disclose any findings. We wish to acknowledge the cooperation extended to us during the audit by the Office.” Register Macfarlane is proud of his record of sound fiscal stewardship and notes similar results from audits conducted in 2020 and 2016. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/7d82eb97-f27e-4b3a-a0ce-a9072350e364/5.png In the News - Make it stand out “Even in a place like Maryland, we’re still fighting for even our most basic human rights,” said Byron E. Macfarlane, register of wills for Howard County. Macfarlane, a 40-year-old Columbia resident who identifies as a gay man, said he hoped that the court’s decision would be reversed. “The legislature should, and I trust will, resolve these issues next session, and I hope our state will eliminate these so-called ‘religious entity exemptions’ that enable this kind of appalling discrimination,” he said. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/775f7587-61b6-474f-b9c4-e469286ca640/6.png In the News - Make it stand out Byron Macfarlane, register of wills for Howard County, however, understands the reluctance to stay away from the concert, regardless of the revulsion people may feel towards the performer and his views. “People have a genuine concern for their safety,” Macfarlane told Baltimore Fishbowl. “Jason Aldean is not an artist. He is a fearmonger who spews dangerous rhetoric.” “People in Columbia are mortified,” Macfarlane said of Merriweather’s choice to book Aldean, who he said “peddles racism and vigilante justice. He serves up fear and anxiety at a time when political discourse is at a boiling point.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/259f4956-4ebb-465d-be0c-ee9af25e2499/2.png In the News - Make it stand out Alsobrooks added 21 more current and former elected officials to her massive list of endorsers. This round included several politicians from the Baltimore area, including state Dels. Regina T. Boyce and Robbyn Lewis and Sen. Mary Washington from Baltimore; Del. Andrew Pruski, Sen. Pamela Beidle and Council Vice Chair Allison Pickard from Anne Arundel County; and Register of Wills Byron Macfarlane from Howard County. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/3bec3687-deba-49f6-91bb-7ebf3556cf03/7.png In the News - Make it stand out “For LGBTQ+ Marylanders, we’re in one of the safest and most welcoming places to live in America. However, things here aren’t perfect, and in some parts of our country, these are dark times. Our most pressing challenges are the war against reproductive freedom, the assault on transgender Americans, particularly minors, and a right-wing theocratic takeover of our public schools. We have to remain vigilant. We can organize, we can contribute to organizations fighting for us, and we can elect more allies and more of ourselves to public office, especially at the local level to our school boards.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/74b1513a-36d2-483a-b599-c5686755591d/1.png In the News - Make it stand out “It is the people who have the smallest estates who are more likely to not have a will,” said Macfarlane, who was part of a work group with other county registers of wills and attorneys specializing in estate issues that studied how best to update Maryland’s law. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/49c9eae6-c0ab-4cee-b08e-a5e9ddc13871/3.png In the News - Make it stand out “We know we can’t count on the Supreme Court anymore,” Macfarlane said. “In fact, we know it’s open season on civil rights after the court reversed Roe. It’s great to see Congress taking proactive steps to protect same-sex and interracial marriage in case our worst fears come true with our right-wing court. I hope this is the first of many steps we take to enshrine our rights in law.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/6166de3f-363c-44ba-b45b-64a6acea5341/8.png In the News - Make it stand out “This is a victory for common sense and for justice for grieving families. We’ve successfully reformed a court that doesn’t even require its judges to be lawyers, and is so ancient it actually dates back to the 13th century, the Middle Ages, in England. Going forward, families will have the confidence of knowing that an experienced judge of the Circuit Court will handle their loved ones’ estates. People deserve a better system and now help is on the way.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/2b01038c-ac09-41a2-b2e6-b718767a2d52/4.png In the News - Make it stand out Macfarlane said he has spoken with several colleagues from around the state — gay planning attorneys — who report being “inundated” with questions from same-sex couples in response to Thomas’ opinion. “There has definitely been an impact in the community,” he said. “There is a sense that you could be next.” https://www.byronforhoco.com/home-1 daily 1.0 2026-02-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/7fb99ddf-061c-4ad9-8716-dff1456953e6/endorsement-badges-2026-Endorsed.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/0789b6b3-f7fc-4614-9860-f4c935d67824/filing2026.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/e209898c-0742-4b2f-8b51-a7f60894f469/Courthouse-17.jpg Home (Temporary) https://www.byronforhoco.com/vision-1 daily 0.75 2026-02-11 https://www.byronforhoco.com/service daily 0.75 2026-02-11 https://www.byronforhoco.com/reform daily 0.75 2026-02-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/968b2b56-00c5-44a3-b0e5-441ed6b48277/Advocacy.png Reform - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/ccc03383-2d7c-4140-beab-5805c967b9ca/Savings+%283%29.png Reform - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.byronforhoco.com/endorsements daily 0.75 2026-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/a43f7c31-6c72-4ded-9204-c80cbd60dd7c/Byron+Macfarlane.png Endorsements Click to contribute! https://www.byronforhoco.com/voting daily 0.75 2026-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e58feea33109732f1083e3/cba9576a-e99b-44b3-8f02-1cc86b7c35c6/votingbooth.jpg Voting - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.