Maryland · probate and estate law
Probate in Maryland: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs
Maryland law decides whether an estate needs probate and what a lawyer may charge. Every fact links to its statute, with the date we read it. Not legal advice.
We do not endorse or recommend any attorney
Firms are listed by name with what they publish and what the bar roster says about them; you contact them yourself. A firm can never pay to move up a list.
Do I need a lawyer?
- Small-estate limit
- Estates under $50,000 can use a simpler process instead of full probate.
- Formal probate
- Required above $50,000. Independent administration: no. Uniform Probate Code: no.
- Typical duration
- About 9 months.
- Source
- Est. & Trusts §5-601 (small estate administration ≤ $50,000; $100,000 where the surviving spouse is sole heir) statute → · checked Sep 20, 2026
Settling an estate in Maryland
What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.
- Filing the original will
In Maryland, after the death, whoever has the original will must deliver it to the register of wills for the county where the estate should be opened. The law sets no specific number of days, but a holder who willfully fails to deliver it can be liable for the harm caused.
- Which court handles probate
In Maryland, estates are opened with the register of wills and overseen by the orphans' court in the county where the person who died lived.
- Creditors' deadline to make claims
In Maryland, the register of wills publishes notice of the appointment once a week for 3 weeks. Creditors must present claims by the earlier of 6 months after the death or 2 months after the executor or administrator (the law calls them the personal representative) mails them a notice, or the claim is barred.
- Estate inventory
In Maryland, the executor or administrator must file an inventory of what the person who died owned, with values as of the date of death, within 3 months after being appointed.
- The order estate debts are paid
In Maryland, if the estate cannot pay every claim, the executor or administrator pays the register's fees and the costs of running the estate first, then funeral expenses, then fees for the personal representative and lawyers, then the family allowance, then other listed debts, and all other claims last.
- State estate and inheritance tax
Maryland has both taxes. The estate tax applies to estates over $5,000,000 for deaths since 2019. A 10% inheritance tax applies to what passes to people other than close family, such as nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
- Closing an estate
In Maryland, the executor or administrator files a first account within 9 months of appointment and further accounts every 6 months until the final account. When the court approves the final account, the estate is closed automatically.
What a probate lawyer may charge in Maryland
Some states set the fee by statute, as a percentage of the estate. Others say "reasonable compensation", and you agree it with the firm.
No statutory fee schedule is recorded for Maryland yet. Either the state leaves fees to "reasonable compensation", or we have not read the statute.
8 metros with named firms
A metro is listed once three firms there have an attorney active on the Maryland bar.
Sorted by how many firms. Placement is never for sale.
Showing 1 to 8 of 8 metros in Maryland
Every Maryland firm with a roster-checked attorney, by city →
The estate letter · Maryland
Settling an estate in Maryland, one month at a time
Twelve months of steps with Maryland's own numbers and deadlines. Read the checklist now, or sign up there for one email a month.
Get the estate letter- Month 1The first things to gather
- Month 2Work out what the estate is
- Month 3Get the authority to act
- 9 more months
Compare more
Estate checklist for Maryland
What the executor does, month by month, with Maryland's numbers and deadlines.
Funeral and cremation law in Maryland
2 checked facts: who decides, waiting periods, permits.
Before probate
Look a lawyer up yourself
Every attorney we name is checked against the Maryland bar roster. You can too: mdcourts.gov →