Baltimore County Register of Wills Guide

Specific fee amounts are not available for this county. Maryland probate fees are set statewide by statute (Md. Est. & Trusts 2-206) and are collected by the Register of Wills, so the same graduated schedule applies in every county and Baltimore City. There is no separate county probate filing fee. The regular-estate probate fee is graduated on the gross value of the probate estate (effective October 1, 2022): $0 for estates of $50,000 or less; $100 for over $50,000 through $100,000; $200 for over $100,000 through $500,000; $1,000 for over $500,000 through $1,000,000; $2,000 for over $1,000,000 through $2,500,000; $5,000 for over $2,500,000 through $5,000,000; $7,500 for over $5,000,000 through $7,500,000; $10,000 for over $7,500,000 through $10,000,000; and $10,000 plus 0.02% of the excess over $10,000,000 for larger estates. A small estate (probate property of $50,000 or less, or $100,000 or less when the surviving spouse is the sole heir or legatee) owes no Register of Wills probate fee. Other statutory charges include certified copies ($0.50 per page plus $2.00), letters of administration ($1.00), a filed claim ($3.00), and a caveat ($20.00). Personal representative commissions are separately capped by statute (Md. Est. & Trusts 7-601) at 9% of the first $20,000 of estate value plus 3.6% of the excess. Maryland also imposes a 10% inheritance tax on property passing to collateral takers (Md. Tax-General Title 7, Subtitle 2), from which a surviving spouse, child or other lineal descendant, parent, grandparent, and sibling are exempt, and a separate Maryland estate tax on estates above the $5,000,000 exemption (Md. Tax-General Title 7, Subtitle 3). Confirm current amounts with the Baltimore County Register of Wills before relying on a figure.