Get a tailored starting point in a few minutes.
Start the free role check- 1
Confirm your role
Read the Trust instrument to confirm you are in fact the acting Trustee, what powers you have, and what the Trust directs. Note any amendments or restatements.
- 2
Secure the documents
Locate the original Trust and any amendments, and gather related documents (deeds, account statements, and — where applicable — a death certificate).
- 3
Identify and safeguard assets
Make an inventory of what the Trust owns and take reasonable steps to protect it. Do not commingle Trust assets with your own.
- 4
Identify the beneficiaries
Determine who the qualified beneficiaries are. You'll owe them duties to inform and, generally, to account.
- 5
Handle required notices
Maryland law provides for two notices to the qualified beneficiaries — within 60 days after you accept the trusteeship, and within 90 days after you acquire knowledge that the Trust has become irrevocable (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-813(b)) — for a trustee who accepted, and a Trust irrevocable, on or after January 1, 2015 (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-813(e)). Get the sequence and timing right.
- 6
Don't rush distributions
Understand the Trust terms and your obligations before paying anyone. Premature or incorrect distributions are a common source of Trustee liability.
The short answer · 10 min read
Named as trustee in Maryland? Read the instrument, decide whether to accept (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-701), and record two dates — the day you accept and the day you learn the trust became irrevocable: they start the 60-day and 90-day notices to the qualified beneficiaries (§ 14.5-813(b)(1)). Secure the property, list the assets by title, and keep the ledger a report draws on (§ 14.5-813(c)).
Last reviewed against the Maryland Statutes and updated on 2026-10-27.
Before you act: read, then decide
Being named is not accepting. A designated trustee accepts by substantially complying with the method the terms provide or, where they provide none or it is not exclusive, by accepting delivery of the trust property, exercising powers, performing duties or otherwise indicating acceptance; a designee who does not accept within a reasonable time after knowing of the designation is deemed to have rejected the office, and may act to preserve the property before deciding if a rejection follows within a reasonable time (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-701).
Read the trust instrument and every amendment, and any later will — where the trust does not make its own method exclusive, a later will or codicil that expressly refers to a revocable trust can revoke or amend it (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-602(c)). For an instrument signed on or after January 1, 2015, a Maryland trust is revocable unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable (§ 14.5-602(a)).
The dates that start the clocks
The day you accept starts 60 days to notify the qualified beneficiaries of your acceptance and your name, address and telephone number (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-813(b)(1)(i)). The day you learn the trust has become irrevocable — usually the day you learn of the settlor's death — starts 90 days to notify them of the trust's existence, the settlor, and their rights to a copy and to a report (§ 14.5-813(b)(1)(ii)). Neither is owed by a trustee who accepted, or for a trust irrevocable, before January 1, 2015 (§ 14.5-813(e)).
The same knowledge of the death starts 60 days to notify a surviving spouse of a revocable trust's existence (Est. & Trusts § 3-409(c)); the day you learn an estate was opened starts 30 days to notify its personal representative (Md. Rule 10-801(a)); and the death itself starts the one-year contest window (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-605). Record each date the day you learn it.
The documents to find in the first week
The trust instrument and every amendment; any later will and codicil; the death certificate; the deeds to real property and any transfer-on-death deed; the account statements; the beneficiary designations on insurance and retirement accounts; the settlor's recent tax returns and correspondence. A person holding the settlor's will delivers it to the register of wills for the county where the estate should be administered (Est. & Trusts § 4-203(b)).
Assets by how they are titled
List each asset by its title: in the trust's name; in the settlor's name alone (an estate asset, or a small estate's under Est. & Trusts § 5-601); joint with survivorship; payable on death; by a transfer-on-death deed (Real Prop. § 14-1003, from October 1, 2026); or with a beneficiary designation. Record each asset's value at the death. Property a married couple held by the entirety and conveyed to the trust may carry its own creditor protection (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-511) — record the deed.
The beneficiaries, and the people to notify
The qualified beneficiaries are those who, on the date, are distributees or permissible distributees of trust income or principal, or would be if the current interests ended or the trust terminated that day (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-103(u)); a beneficiary who has asked the trustee for notice receives the notices too (§ 14.5-110(a)). The surviving spouse receives the spouse's notice whether or not a beneficiary (§ 3-409(c)). Record each person's name, address and the way each has agreed to be notified — e-mail counts only with a written agreement (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-109(a)(3)(ii)).
Maryland trustee deadlines: what the statutes provide
Reviewed against the Maryland Statutes on 2026-10-27. General information, not legal advice; the official text controls.
| When | Timing | What the statute provides | To whom | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You are named trustee and act on it | No day-count. Acceptance is by the instrument's method or by conduct; the 60-day notice runs from it. | Accept by substantially complying with a method of acceptance the terms of the trust provide or, where they provide none or the method is not expressly exclusive, by accepting delivery of the trust property, exercising powers or performing duties as trustee, or otherwise indicating acceptance. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-701(a) ↗ |
| You are named trustee and do not want the office | A designee who does not accept within a reasonable time after knowing of the designation is deemed to have rejected it. | A designee who has not accepted may reject; without accepting, a designee may act to preserve the trust property if a rejection is sent within a reasonable time to the settlor or, where the settlor is dead or lacks capacity, to a qualified beneficiary, and may inspect the property. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-701(b), (c) ↗ |
| You accept | At once and throughout; no day-count. | Administer the trust reasonably under the circumstances, in accordance with its terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries; solely in the beneficiaries' interests (§ 14.5-802(a)) and impartially among them (§ 14.5-803). | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-801 ↗ |
| You accept | At once; no day-count. | Take reasonable steps to take control of and protect the trust property (a revocable trust's tangible property not in the trustee's possession excepted); keep adequate records, keep the property separate and have it titled to show the trust's interest where feasible. | — | Est. & Trusts §§ 14.5-809, 14.5-810 ↗ |
| You accept, or the trust receives assets | No day-count; the standard applies to every decision. | Administer as a prudent person would, considering the trust's purposes, terms, distributional requirements and other circumstances, with reasonable care, skill and caution. The prudent investor rule of Est. & Trusts § 15-114 binds a trust company, an investment adviser it controls and a fiduciary who elects into it. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-804 ↗ |
| You accept the trusteeship | Within 60 days after accepting. | Notify the qualified beneficiaries of the acceptance and of the trustee's name, address and telephone number — not owed by a trustee who accepted before January 1, 2015, or for a trust irrevocable before that date (§ 14.5-813(e)). | The qualified beneficiaries — each beneficiary who, on the date of determination, is a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal, or would be one if those interests ended on that date or the trust terminated on that date (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-103(u)) — and any beneficiary who has sent the trustee a request for notice (§ 14.5-110(a)). | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-813(b)(1)(i) ↗ |
| You acquire knowledge that the trust is irrevocable, or has become irrevocable — by the settlor's death or otherwise | Within 90 days after the date you acquire that knowledge. | Notify the qualified beneficiaries of the trust's existence, of the identity of the settlor or settlors, of the right to request a copy of the trust instrument, and of the right to a trustee's report. Knowledge is actual knowledge, a notice received, or what the trustee knows or should know from the facts known (§ 14.5-104). | The qualified beneficiaries — each beneficiary who, on the date of determination, is a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal, or would be one if those interests ended on that date or the trust terminated on that date (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-103(u)) — and any beneficiary who has sent the trustee a request for notice (§ 14.5-110(a)). | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-813(b)(1)(ii) ↗ |
| The trustee accepted, or the trust became irrevocable, before January 1, 2015 | Neither notice applies. | Subsection (b) — both notices — does not apply to a trustee that accepted a trusteeship before January 1, 2015, to an irrevocable trust created before that date, or to a revocable trust that became irrevocable before it. The information duty and the report on request are not confined to that date. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-813(e) ↗ |
| The trust's terms waive or change the notices | Not as to a qualified beneficiary of an irrevocable trust who has attained 25 years of age. | The terms prevail over most of the Act, but not over the duty to notify the qualified beneficiaries of an irrevocable trust who have attained 25 of the trust's existence, the trustee's identity and their right to request reports and a copy of the trust, or to respond to their requests for reports and information. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-105(11) ↗ |
| Each time a § 14.5-813 notice — or a proposed termination, modification, combination, division, resignation or transfer — goes out | No day-count; the method is the statute's. | Personal service; certified or first-class mail, return receipt requested; courier with delivery confirmation requested; or, only where the recipient agrees in writing, first-class mail, fax with a confirmation page, or e-mail with acknowledgment requested. The agreement is revocable; a trustee who knows or should know an alternative-method notice was not received resends by one of the first three methods. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-109(a)(3) ↗ |
| A qualified beneficiary's name, location or delivery address is unknown to you | Once a week for three successive weeks. | The § 14.5-813(b) notices are given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the trust property is located. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-813(b)(2)(ii) ↗ |
| You acquire knowledge of the settlor's death — a trust revocable at the death, and a surviving spouse | Within 60 days after the date you acquire that knowledge. | Notify the surviving spouse — a beneficiary or not — of the existence of the trust, of the identity of the trustees, and of the spouse's right to request a copy of the trust instrument. | The surviving spouse. | Est. & Trusts § 3-409(c); Md. Rule 10-801(b) ↗ |
| You acquire knowledge that an estate other than a small estate was opened for the settlor of a trust revocable at the death | Within 30 days after the date you acquire that knowledge. | Notify the personal representative of the existence of the trust and of the identity of each trustee. | The personal representative. | Md. Rule 10-801(a) ↗ |
| A qualified beneficiary asks for information related to the administration, or for the instrument | Promptly, unless unreasonable under the circumstances — no day-count. | Respond to the request, including with a copy of the trust instrument — a duty the terms cannot remove (§ 14.5-105(10)). | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-813(a) ↗ |
| A qualified beneficiary requests a report | Annually, and at the termination of the trust — no report without a request. | Send a report of the trust property, liabilities, receipts and disbursements, including the source and amount of the trustee's compensation, a listing of the trust assets and, if feasible, their respective market values. | The qualified beneficiary who requested it. | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-813(c)(1) ↗ |
| A vacancy in the trusteeship, with no cotrustee remaining, and a request | No day-count. | The former trustee sends a report to the qualified beneficiaries who request it; a personal representative, guardian or attorney-in-fact may send it on the former trustee's behalf. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-813(c)(2), (3) ↗ |
| A qualified beneficiary waives a report or information | Any time; the waiver may be withdrawn as to future reports. | A qualified beneficiary may waive the right to a report or other information and withdraw the waiver for the future; a trustee who is a qualified beneficiary owes no report to themself. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-813(d) ↗ |
| The surviving spouse of the settlor of a revocable trust makes a written request | No day-count. | Deliver all information necessary to calculate the elective share; on a filed election, promptly pass notice of it to each person from whom any portion of the share may be payable. | The surviving spouse. | Est. & Trusts § 3-409(a), (b); Md. Rule 10-803(b) ↗ |
| A trustee eligible to do so files a schedule of rates (a supervised financial institution, or a member of the Maryland Bar) | On the filing; a qualified beneficiary who objects may petition the circuit court to review the rates. | Give the qualified beneficiaries of each affected trust notice of the filing, personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested, with a clear statement of their rights; another individual trustee needs a circuit court's approval to use a schedule (§ 14.5-708(e)). | The qualified beneficiaries — each beneficiary who, on the date of determination, is a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal, or would be one if those interests ended on that date or the trust terminated on that date (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-103(u)) — and any beneficiary who has sent the trustee a request for notice (§ 14.5-110(a)). | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-708(d) ↗ |
| You decide to resign | At least 30 days' notice — or with the court's approval. | Give notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the settlor if living, all cotrustees and any person with a right to replace or appoint a successor; resignation discharges no liability. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-705 ↗ |
| You have resigned or been removed | Expeditiously; the duties continue until the property is delivered. | Unless a cotrustee remains or the court orders otherwise, keep the duties of a trustee and the powers needed to protect the trust property until it is delivered to the successor or another person entitled to it, and deliver it expeditiously. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-707 ↗ |
| A trustee cannot be located | 120 consecutive days. | A vacancy occurs; a vacancy that must be filled is filled by the person the terms designate, then a person the qualified beneficiaries appoint unanimously, then the court (§ 14.5-704(c)). | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-704(a)(7) ↗ |
| You propose to move the trust's principal place of administration | Notice not less than 60 days before the transfer, with an objection date not less than 60 days after the notice. | Notify the qualified beneficiaries of the new jurisdiction, the trustee's new address and telephone number, the reasons and the anticipated date; a timely objection ends the trustee's authority to transfer. | The qualified beneficiaries — each beneficiary who, on the date of determination, is a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal, or would be one if those interests ended on that date or the trust terminated on that date (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-103(u)) — and any beneficiary who has sent the trustee a request for notice (§ 14.5-110(a)). | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-108(d), (e) ↗ |
| An authorized fiduciary intends to exercise a decanting power | At least 60 days before the exercise, unless every entitled person waives the period in a signed record. | Give notice in a record of the manner and the proposed effective date, with copies of the first trust and every second trust, to each living settlor, each qualified beneficiary, each holder of a presently exercisable power of appointment, each person who may remove or replace the fiduciary and any other fiduciary. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14-605 ↗ |
| You propose to convert to a unitrust, reconvert, or adjust between principal and income | At least 30 days after the notice is mailed for written consents; without every qualified beneficiary's consent, a petition to the circuit court to review it. | Mail the qualified beneficiaries, and the trust's creator if living, a notice of the proposed decision with the statute's contents; proceed only on every qualified beneficiary's written consent. | — | Est. & Trusts § 15-502.3 ↗ |
| The trust's value on its last anniversary is $100,000 or less and you propose to end it without a court | Effective at least 90 days after every recipient received the notice; a written objection within 60 days of the objector's receipt; a withdrawal within 90 days. | Deliver the notice personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each cotrustee and qualified beneficiary, with the trust's name, settlor and date, the trustees, the reasons, the effective date, each distribution's amount and calculation and the right to object. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-412 ↗ |
| The settlor of a trust revocable at the death dies | The earliest of one year after the death or six months after the trustee sends a person the instrument and the contest notice. | A person contesting the trust's validity commences the proceeding within the period; the trustee's notice — a copy of the instrument with the trust's existence, the trustee's name and address and the time allowed — shortens it to six months for its recipient. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-605 ↗ |
| An estate other than a small estate is opened for the settlor of a trust revocable at the death | Claims run through the estate: the earlier of six months after the death or two months after the personal representative's notice to the creditor (Est. & Trusts § 8-103(a)). | The trust's property, the trustee and the beneficiaries are not liable for the settlor's creditors' claims not properly presented in the estate within those periods, or disallowed and barred under Est. & Trusts § 8-107. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-508(b)(1) ↗ |
| No estate is opened, or only a small estate, and the trustee publishes the notice to creditors | Publication once a week for three successive weeks; claims barred six months after the first publication unless presented, or sued on with service within 30 days of filing. | The statute's notice form, published in the county of probate venue, gives the trust property, the trustee and the beneficiaries the estate's protections against claims presented more than six months after the first publication. Without an estate or a publication, the statute sets no bar date for the trust. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-508(b)(2)–(5) ↗ |
| The trustee disallows a presented claim | The claimant sues within 60 days after the notice of disallowance is mailed, or is barred. | The notice of disallowance warns the claimant of the 60-day period for commencing an action against the trustee or a distributee. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-508(b)(6) ↗ |
| You send a proposal for distribution on termination or partial termination | A beneficiary's right to object ends 60 days after the proposal was sent, if it stated the right and the time. | The proposal is optional; it informs each beneficiary of the right to object and of the time allowed. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-817(a) ↗ |
| An event terminates or partially terminates the trust | Expeditiously; no day-count. | Distribute the trust property to the persons entitled to it, subject to a reasonable reserve for the payment of debts, expenses and taxes. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-817(b) ↗ |
| A beneficiary or representative is sent a report that adequately discloses a potential claim and states the time allowed | One year after it is sent. | A beneficiary may not sue the trustee for breach of trust after the year — except for a breach in bad faith or with reckless indifference; a report is adequate if it gives enough that the beneficiary knows of the claim or should have inquired. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-904 ↗ |
| The trust terminates, or you resign or are removed, and you elect the release procedure | 120 days after the report is mailed by first-class and certified mail, return receipt requested. | The report gives an accounting for the preceding five years, the property still expected, the fees still owed and the statutory statements; an interested party who does not object in writing within the 120 days is deemed to have released the trustee and ratified the trustee's actions. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-907(c)–(f) ↗ |
| A custodian of a digital account receives a complete request from a fiduciary | The custodian complies no later than 60 days after receipt; then a court may order compliance. | A trustee who is not an original user asks for the content of electronic communications with a certification of trust that includes the consent to disclosure (Est. & Trusts § 15-611(2)), or for a catalogue with the instrument or a certification (§ 15-612). | — | Est. & Trusts § 15-615(a) ↗ |
| Any period counted from an act or event | Exclude the day of the event; include the last day unless it is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday. | The period then runs to the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or holiday; intermediate weekend days and holidays count unless the period is seven days or less, and three days are added after service by mail (Rule 1-203(c)). | — | Md. Rule 1-203(a) ↗ |
| Property in the trust passes to a recipient outside the exempt classes — a niece, a nephew, a friend | The tax is paid before the property is distributed; the application to fix the tax on non-probate assets is filed within 90 days after the death. | The inheritance tax is 10 percent of the clear value of property passing from a decedent; grandparents, parents, the spouse, children and their descendants, their spouses, siblings and the listed charities are exempt (Tax-Gen. § 7-203). The person who distributes the property pays the tax before distributing and is liable until it is paid. | The Register of Wills. | Tax-Gen. §§ 7-204, 7-216(a); Md. Rule 6-405 ↗ |
| The settlor dies a Maryland resident (or with Maryland real or tangible property) and a federal return is required — or would be at Maryland's exclusion | Nine months after the death; a filing extension is not a payment extension. | The person responsible for the federal return files the Maryland estate tax return under oath with the Comptroller; the exclusion is $5,000,000 for a decedent dying on or after January 1, 2019, plus any deceased spousal unused exclusion (Tax-Gen. § 7-309(b)(3)(i)6). | The Comptroller. | Tax-Gen. § 7-305 ↗ |
| The trust's tax year ends — a resident fiduciary | By the date the Comptroller's fiduciary instructions state for the year. | A trust created by the will of a Maryland domiciliary, whose creator is a current resident, or principally administered in Maryland has a resident fiduciary, who files Maryland's fiduciary return (Form 504) beside the federal Form 1041. | — | Tax-Gen. § 10-101(k)(1)(iii) ↗ |
| You deed real property into the trust, or out of it to a beneficiary | At recording; no day-count. | No recordation, transfer or other State or local excise tax is imposed on a transfer without consideration to a trust, or from a trust to a beneficiary who would have been exempt from a direct transfer, during the grantor's life where the trustee acquired the property for value, or to a beneficiary of a revocable trust as a result of the settlor's death. | — | Est. & Trusts § 14.5-1001(b) ↗ |
| The testator dies and you hold the will | After the death; the statute states no day-count. | The custodian delivers the will to the register of wills for the county where administration should be had, and is liable for the damages a willful failure causes. | The register of wills. | Est. & Trusts § 4-203(b) ↗Related estate |
| A personal representative is appointed | Within 20 days after the appointment. | The personal representative delivers to the register the text of the first published notice of the appointment and the names and addresses of the heirs and legatees, so the register may issue its notices (Est. & Trusts § 2-210). | — | Est. & Trusts § 7-104 ↗Related estate |
| A personal representative is appointed | Within three months after the appointment. | The personal representative files an inventory of the decedent's property with each item's fair market value at the date of death and any encumbrance — and, under Md. Rule 6-404, an information report in the same three months. Never a trustee's clock. | — | Est. & Trusts § 7-201 ↗Related estate |
| A personal representative is appointed | Within nine months after the appointment, then within six months after each account, until the final account. | The personal representative renders accounts; the court may extend the time for good cause. | — | Est. & Trusts § 7-305 ↗Related estate |
| The death; the personal representative's notice to a creditor | The earlier of six months after the death or two months after the notice is mailed or delivered. | A claim against the estate not presented within the period is barred against the estate, the personal representative and the heirs and legatees; the Medical Assistance claim has its own periods (§ 8-103(f)). | — | Est. & Trusts § 8-103(a) ↗Related estate |
| The personal representative mails a notice disallowing a claim | The claimant petitions or sues within 60 days after the mailing, or is barred. | The notice warns the claimant of the time limit. | — | Est. & Trusts § 8-107 ↗Related estate |
| The death; the first appointment of a personal representative | The later of nine months after the death or six months after the first appointment; extensions of up to three months at a time on a petition filed within the period. | The surviving spouse elects the elective share — one-third with surviving issue, one-half without, of the estate subject to election, reduced by the spousal benefits (§ 3-403); a trust revocable at the death is part of the augmented estate (Md. Rule 10-803(a)). | — | Est. & Trusts § 3-407 ↗Related estate |
| The first appointment of a personal representative under a will | Six months; for a later-offered different will, the later of three months after its probate or six months after the first appointment. | A verified petition to caveat a will is filed within the period — a will's contest, not a trust's. | — | Est. & Trusts § 5-207(a) ↗Related estate |
| The decedent's property subject to administration in Maryland is small | No day-count. | Property of $50,000 or less — $100,000 or less where the surviving spouse is the sole legatee or heir — valued at fair market value less secured debt may be administered as a small estate; a trust's balance is never read as a small estate. | — | Est. & Trusts § 5-601 ↗Related estate |
| A personal representative elects modified administration | The election within three months after appointment; the final report within ten months; distribution within twelve months. | Available where the residuary takers are limited to the personal representative, persons and entities exempt from the inheritance tax, and trusts whose current beneficiaries are exempt; the estate is solvent; and the takers consent. | — | Est. & Trusts § 5-702 ↗Related estate |
| The death, with a surviving spouse, registered domestic partner or unmarried minor child | No day-count. | The surviving spouse or registered domestic partner is entitled to $10,000 for personal use; $5,000 is paid for each unmarried child under 18 at the death. | — | Est. & Trusts § 3-201 ↗Related estate |
| A beneficiary or heir dies close in time to the decedent | 120 hours. | An individual not established by clear and convincing evidence to have survived the other by at least 120 hours is deemed to have predeceased, where title, devolution or another right depends on survival. | — | Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 10-802 ↗Related estate |
| A business discovers a breach of personal information of a Maryland resident | The Attorney General before the individuals; the individuals as soon as reasonably practicable and not later than 45 days after discovery. | The statute's investigation, notice contents and substitute notice — the privacy policy's Maryland sentence. | — | Com. Law § 14-3504 ↗ |
| Death, where the estate may be taxable federally | Nine months after the death (an extension is available). | File the federal estate tax return where the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds the exclusion, or to elect portability of a deceased spouse's unused exclusion. | — | IRS Form 706 ↗Federal |
| The trust's tax year ends | The 15th day of the fourth month after year-end (April 15 for a calendar-year trust). | File the trust's federal income tax return and issue a Schedule K-1 to each beneficiary who received distributable income. | — | IRS Form 1041 ↗Federal |
The estate, the creditors and the taxes
After the death, the property of a trust that was revocable then answers for the settlor's debts (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-508(a)(5)). If an estate other than a small estate is opened, a creditor's claim not properly presented in it within the estate's periods cannot reach the trust (§ 14.5-508(b)(1)); if none is opened, the trustee may publish a notice to creditors, once a week for three successive weeks, that makes a claim not presented within six months after the first publication unenforceable (§ 14.5-508(b)(2), (3)). A gift to a recipient outside the inheritance tax's exempt family classes carries a 10 percent tax the trustee pays before distributing it (Tax-Gen. §§ 7-204, 7-216(a)).
Money and the record
Open the trust's account in the trust's name with its own taxpayer identification number, keep the trust's money separate from your own (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-810(b)), and record every receipt and payment with the document behind it — the record a report on request draws on (§ 14.5-813(c)). Expenses properly incurred are reimbursed from the trust, with interest as appropriate (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-709).
What to avoid
Do not distribute before the creditor, contest and tax questions are answered; do not pay yourself before reading what the instrument says about compensation (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-708); do not buy trust property or deal with relatives on the trust's behalf without reading the conflict rule (§ 14.5-802(c)); and do not mix trust money with your own (§ 14.5-810(b)). Each is a question a licensed Maryland attorney of your choosing can answer before you act.
General information about Maryland law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by using this page.
Frequently asked questions
- What should I do first if I'm named trustee in Maryland?
- Read the trust and any later will, decide whether to accept, and record the date you accept and the date you learned the trust became irrevocable — they start the 60-day and 90-day notices to the qualified beneficiaries (Est. & Trusts §§ 14.5-701, 14.5-813(b)(1)).
- Can I refuse to be a trustee in Maryland?
- Yes — a designee who has not accepted may reject the trusteeship, and one who does not accept within a reasonable time after knowing of the designation is deemed to have rejected it (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-701(b)).
- Who are the qualified beneficiaries of a Maryland trust?
- The beneficiaries who, on the date, are distributees or permissible distributees of trust income or principal, or would be if the current interests ended or the trust terminated that day (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-103(u)).
- Can I email the Maryland trust notices?
- Only to a beneficiary who agreed in writing to accept notice that way, with acknowledgment requested; otherwise personally, by personal service, by return-receipt mail or by courier with delivery confirmation (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-109(a)(3)(ii)).
General information about Maryland law, not legal advice.