Small Estates in Maryland: Small estate administration

Maryland small estate rules at a glance

Can you use it?

You can generally use the Maryland shortcut when all of these are true:

• The probate estate is $50,000 or less ($100,000 when the surviving spouse is the only heir or legatee).
• Timing: none set; open it with the Register of Wills.
• No one has been appointed, or applied to be appointed, executor or administrator.
• Real estate: yes. Real estate can be part of a small estate.

Other Maryland rules

• Maryland inheritance tax still applies to small estates when property goes to someone outside the exempt family circle.

How the Maryland procedure works

1. Add up the probate estate. List what the person owned in their name alone, with no beneficiary or surviving joint owner, at its value on the date of death.
2. Check the timing. None set; open it with the Register of Wills.
3. Get the paperwork. Ask the probate court clerk in the county where the person lived for the current form.
4. Sign it under oath, usually before a notary, listing each person entitled to the property and their share.
5. File it. Petition with the Register of Wills in the county where the person lived. Once the court accepts it, banks and other holders release the property.
6. Pay debts and distribute. Pay the funeral and valid debts, then distribute under the will or Maryland's intestacy law. If you take more than your share, the other heirs and creditors can come after you for it.

The person's final income tax return is still due by April 15 of the year after the death. See the final tax returns guide, and Form 1310 to claim a refund without an executor.

A car title moves through the state's motor vehicle office, which has its own forms: see how to transfer a car title after death.

If the estate is over the limit

Then the estate goes through probate: the court appoints an executor, who gets letters testamentary (or letters of administration when there is no will) and settles the estate. Maryland's court and forms are in the probate forms by state table. In Maryland, creditors have this long to claim: the earlier of 6 months after the death or 2 months after the personal representative mails the creditor a notice. See how long probate takes in Maryland.

Use the probate cost calculator to estimate the court, attorney and executor fees.

Maryland taxes on a small estate

Maryland has an inheritance tax, and a small estate isn't exempt just because it's small: what each heir owes depends on their relationship to the person who died. See Maryland inheritance tax for the rates, return and deadline.

Small estate affidavits in other states

Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · District of Columbia · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming

Or compare them all in the 50-state table.

Related guides

• Letters testamentary: how executors get them, by state
• What is probate? How it works, step by step
• How long does probate take? Timeline by state
• Probate cost calculator: fees by state
• Probate court forms by state
• Transfer a car title after death, by state
• Executor checklist: what to do when someone dies
• Form 1310: claiming a deceased person's tax refund