Maryland Probate Guide
County-specific probate filing-office contacts, filing fees, required forms, and step-by-step guidance for families settling an estate in Maryland.
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Types of Probate in Maryland
Maryland probate runs through two offices in each of the 24 jurisdictions: the elected Register of Wills opens the estate, files the will, appoints the personal representative, keeps the records, and collects the statewide probate fee and the inheritance tax, while the three-judge Orphans' Court supervises administration and hears disputes (in Montgomery, Harford, and Howard counties the Circuit Court judges sit as the Orphans' Court). The path depends on estate value: small estate administration under Md. Est. & Trusts 5-601 when the property subject to administration is $50,000 or less ($100,000 if the surviving spouse is the sole legatee or heir), streamlined modified administration under 5-701, and regular administration by administrative probate under 5-301 (judicial probate under 5-401). The Register of Wills collects one statewide value-based probate fee under Md. Est. & Trusts 2-206, so there is no per-county probate filing fee, and Maryland levies both a state estate tax and a state inheritance tax.
See the full comparison of Maryland probate typesWhich procedures exist, who qualifies, and how the timelines compare.Find your county
Maryland Probate Filing Offices by County
Choose your county to get its probate court contacts, filing fees, and required forms. 24 counties have detailed data.
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Browse Maryland guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Browse Maryland guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Forms & Court
1Executor Duties
3Taxes & Deadlines
9Planning Documents
8Property Transfer
1Avoiding Probate
1Maryland Probate Self-Help and Online Resources
Maryland probate resource map by source type
State court, form, statute, agency, and self-help sources for general probate and estate-settlement questions.
County court, clerk, register, or filing-office pages for local probate divisions, filing paths, local forms, fee references, and courthouse-specific resources.
All Maryland self-help resources (8 links)Official court, form, law-library, referral, and legal-education links, plus how to use each source
Maryland probate source navigation starts with state court, form, agency, legal-help, or referral links that are already tracked in Settled state data. These links are state-level starting points, not county-specific filing instructions.
Which Maryland probate source should you use?
- Start with the state court, form, or self-help source for general Maryland probate context.
- Use county filing-office, clerk, register, or court pages for local filing locations, local forms, fee schedules, and records portals.
- Use legal-help, law-library, or referral links as research or referral paths, not as a substitute for counsel.
- Verify current filing steps with the county office, court, clerk, register, legal-aid source, or counsel before filing.
Statewide process, forms, and code sources
State court, form, statute, agency, and self-help sources for general probate and estate-settlement questions.
- Maryland Register of Wills - All Forms
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-21.
- Maryland Register of Wills - Probate Fee Schedule (Md. Est. & Trusts 2-206)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-21.
- Maryland Register of Wills - Estate Search
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-21.
- Md. Code, Estates & Trusts 2-206 (Enumeration of probate fees)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-21.
- Md. Code, Estates & Trusts 5-601 (Small estate thresholds)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-21.
- Maryland Department of Health - Division of Vital Records (Death Certificates)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-21.
- Comptroller of Maryland - Estate and Inheritance Tax
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-21.
County filing-office sources
County court, clerk, register, or filing-office pages for local probate divisions, filing paths, local forms, fee references, and courthouse-specific resources.
- Maryland Register of Wills - Small Estate and Probate Information
Maryland probate is filed with the Register of Wills for the county or Baltimore City where the decedent lived, and the Orphans' Court supervises administration. This statewide Register of Wills information is a starting point, not locality-specific filing support; confirm procedures with the Register of Wills handling the estate.
Settled pairs these Maryland source links with county pages, forms, first-step guides, transfer guides, and source notes so families can move from statewide context to the local office that handles the estate.
Maryland Estate Law Overview
Maryland Estate Tax Info
Most estates owe no Maryland estate tax because the exemption is $5,000,000, and most property passes inheritance-tax-free because spouses, children and other lineal descendants, parents, grandparents, and siblings are exempt.
Federal estate tax info
Federal estate tax only applies to estates exceeding $15,000,000 (2026).
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Intestate succession determines who receives probate property when a Maryland resident dies without a valid will.
View spouse inheritance rules
The surviving spouse or registered domestic partner receives the entire intestate estate under Est. & Trusts 3-102(a).
Under the October 1, 2023 reform the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner receives the entire intestate estate even when a parent survives, regardless of the length of the marriage. This changed the prior law, which gave the spouse a reduced share in this situation.
When there is no surviving minor child and every surviving descendant is shared with the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, the spouse or partner receives the entire intestate estate under Est. & Trusts 3-102(a).
Under Est. & Trusts 3-102(b), if there is a surviving minor child the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner receives one-half of the intestate estate.
Under Est. & Trusts 3-102(c), the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner receives the first $100,000 plus one-half of the residue. The $100,000 figure took effect October 1, 2023 (previously $40,000).
View order of inheritance (no spouse)
- 1Surviving issue (children and their descendants)The residue after any spousal share, or the entire estate if no spouse or registered domestic partner
- 2Parents (equally, or the survivor)If no surviving issue, the estate passes to the surviving parents equally, or to the survivor if only one parent survives
- 3Issue of the parents (brothers and sisters and their descendants)If neither parent survives, to the issue of the parents by representation
- 4Grandparents and their issue (aunts, uncles, cousins)If no parent or issue of a parent survives, one-half to each of the paternal and maternal sides: to the grandparents equally, or to the survivor, or to the issue of that pair of grandparents by representation
- 5Great-grandparents and their issueIf no grandparent or issue of a grandparent survives on a side, that share passes to the great-grandparents and their issue by representation
- 6Stepchildren and their issue (last resort before escheat)If there is no surviving blood relative entitled to take, the net estate is divided among the decedent's stepchildren who survive the decedent and the surviving issue of any predeceased stepchild, by representation
Maryland Homestead Protection
Maryland does NOT have a Florida- or Texas-style constitutional homestead exemption, and it has no homestead-based restriction on leaving a residence by will. Maryland provides a limited statutory debtor exemption for an owner-occupied residence and a modest general exemption under Courts and Judicial Proceedings 11-504, and it provides a family allowance for the surviving spouse and minor children during estate administration under Estates and Trusts 3-201.
Restrictions on leaving homestead in will
With minor children:
No homestead devise restriction. Minor children's protection arises through the family allowance rather than a devise restriction.
Exempt Property
In Maryland the only estate set-aside for the surviving spouse and minor children is the FAMILY ALLOWANCE under Estates and Trusts 3-201. Maryland does NOT have a separate Uniform Probate Code style 'exempt property' set-aside for household goods and vehicles, and it has no homestead allowance. Debtor property exemptions (a creditor-law concept) are separate and appear in Courts and Judicial Proceedings 11-504.