Settling an estate or Trust in Maryland? A free role check shows you where you stand.
Start the free role checkWhat is probate?
Probate is the process that settles a deceased person's estate — admitting any will, appointing a personal representative, paying valid claims and expenses, and distributing what remains to the heirs or legatees. In Maryland it runs before the register of wills in administrative probate, or before the orphans' court in judicial probate, in the county where the decedent was domiciled (Est. & Trusts §§ 5-103, 5-301, 5-401). Assets that pass another way (a funded Trust, beneficiary designations, property held with right of survivorship) generally skip probate.
The main types of Maryland probate
Admission of the will and the fiduciary's appointment
After the death, the will's custodian delivers it to the register of wills (Est. & Trusts § 4-203), and the personal representative the will names — first in priority (Est. & Trusts § 5-104) — is appointed; within 20 days after appointment the personal representative gives the register the published notice and the heirs' and legatees' names (Est. & Trusts § 7-104), and within three months files an inventory (Est. & Trusts § 7-201).
Administration and the estate's clocks
An administration runs on the statutes' clocks: a claim is barred unless presented within the earlier of six months after the death or two months after the personal representative's notice (Est. & Trusts § 8-103); a caveat to the will comes within six months after the first appointment (Est. & Trusts § 5-207); the surviving spouse elects within the later of nine months after the death or six months after the first appointment (Est. & Trusts § 3-407); the first account is due within nine months after appointment, then every six months (Est. & Trusts § 7-305). A living trust itself is not under court supervision unless the court orders it (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-201).
Small estates
Where the Maryland property subject to administration is worth $50,000 or less — $100,000 where the surviving spouse is the sole legatee or heir — the estate may be administered as a small estate (Est. & Trusts § 5-601); and where every residuary legatee or heir is exempt from the inheritance tax, a personal representative may elect modified administration within three months after appointment (Est. & Trusts § 5-702).
What happens in a Maryland probate
- Deliver the will to the register of wills for the county where the decedent was domiciled (Est. & Trusts §§ 4-203, 5-103); a will deposited for safekeeping with the register is held there until it is offered for probate (Est. & Trusts § 4-202).
- Within 20 days after appointment, give the register the text of the first published notice and the names and addresses of the heirs and legatees (Est. & Trusts § 7-104), so the register can send them the notice (Est. & Trusts § 2-210).
- Within three months after appointment, file an inventory of the decedent's property with each item's fair market value at the date of death (Est. & Trusts § 7-201).
- Pay the valid claims, presented within the earlier of six months after the death or two months after your notice (Est. & Trusts § 8-103), the taxes and the administration expenses, the family allowance coming from the estate (Est. & Trusts § 3-201); the surviving spouse's election comes within the later of nine months after the death or six months after the first appointment (Est. & Trusts § 3-407).
- Distribute what remains and account: the first account within nine months after appointment, then within six months after each account until the final one (Est. & Trusts § 7-305).
Can you avoid probate in Maryland?
Often, in part — a funded revocable living Trust, beneficiary or pay-on-death designations, property held with a right of survivorship and, from October 1, 2026, a transfer-on-death deed (Real Prop. § 14-1003) generally pass outside probate, and an estate of $50,000 or less may be administered as a small estate (Est. & Trusts § 5-601). What works depends on how each asset is titled. This page is general information, not legal advice; a free role check can show you where you stand, and a Maryland attorney can advise on your estate.
General information about Maryland law, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
- How does probate work in Maryland?
- A will transfers property only once it is admitted to administrative probate before the register of wills or judicial probate before the orphans' court (Est. & Trusts §§ 5-102, 5-301, 5-401). Outside a small estate (Est. & Trusts § 5-601), the personal representative files an inventory of the decedent's property within three months after the appointment (Est. & Trusts § 7-201) and renders a first account within nine months, then every six months until the final account (Est. & Trusts § 7-305).
- Who serves as personal representative in Maryland?
- The register and the court follow the statute's order of priority, beginning with the personal representatives named in a will admitted to probate (Est. & Trusts § 5-104); no one exercises the office's powers until appointed (Est. & Trusts § 5-102(b)).
- Do Maryland creditors have a deadline in probate?
- A claim against the estate is barred unless presented by the earlier of six months after the death or two months after the personal representative mails or delivers to the creditor a notice that the claim will be barred unless presented within those two months (Est. & Trusts § 8-103(a)).
General information about Maryland law, not legal advice.