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Maryland Trust Administration
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Maryland Trust Administration

How a successor trustee settles a Maryland revocable living trust after the settlor dies under the Maryland Trust Act (Est. & Trusts Title 14.5).

By Settled Editorial

If you have been named the successor trustee of a Maryland revocable living trust, your job begins when the person who created the trust (the settlor) dies. You step in, take control of the trust property, tell the beneficiaries what they are entitled to know, pay the settlor's valid debts and taxes, and then distribute what is left under the trust terms. Most of this work happens outside of court, with no Register of Wills and no Orphans' Court, which is one reason families set up a living trust in the first place.

Maryland trusts run under the Maryland Trust Act, found in the Code of Maryland, Estates and Trusts Article, Title 14.5. That title sets out a trustee's duties, the notice you owe beneficiaries, the accounting they can request, and the standard you must meet when you invest and manage the property. This guide walks the process in plain terms and points to the exact section so you can read the law yourself.

Read this next to the Maryland executor duties guide, which covers the parallel job of a personal representative, and the Maryland estate planning basics guide. If you are still deciding whether to use a trust at all, the Maryland guide to avoiding probate explains where a living trust fits.

The Successor Trustee's Job at a Glance

Here is the sequence most Maryland trust administrations follow:

  1. Accept the trusteeship and read the full trust document plus any amendments.
  2. Order certified death certificates and secure the trust's property.
  3. Get a tax ID number for the trust and open a trust bank account.
  4. Send the written notice the Maryland Trust Act requires to the qualified beneficiaries.
  5. Identify, gather, and value every trust asset.
  6. Pay the settlor's valid debts, final bills, and taxes, including any Maryland inheritance tax.
  7. Keep beneficiaries reasonably informed and send an accounting when one is requested.
  8. Distribute the remaining assets under the trust terms and close the trust.

Each step below explains what the law expects and where probate can still come into play.

Step 1: Accept the Trusteeship

When the settlor dies, the revocable trust becomes irrevocable, and you move from a named backup to the acting trustee. Under Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §14.5-701, you accept the role either by the method written in the trust, or by taking delivery of the trust property, exercising your powers as trustee, performing duties, or otherwise indicating that you accept.

You do not have to take the job. A person named as trustee who has not yet accepted can reject the role, and failing to accept within a reasonable time after learning of the designation counts as a rejection. You may act to preserve the trust property while you decide, and inspecting the property does not lock you in, as long as you tell the qualified beneficiaries you are rejecting the role within a reasonable time if you step aside. (Source: Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §14.5-701, mgaleg.maryland.gov.)

If you do accept, read the entire trust document. Note who the beneficiaries are, what each one receives, any conditions on a distribution, whether the trust pays you for your work, and who serves after you.

Step 2: Secure Property and Keep Clean Records

Move quickly to protect what the trust owns:

  • Order at least 10 to 15 certified death certificates. Banks, title companies, and transfer agents each want their own copy.
  • Secure the home, vehicles, valuables, and important papers. Change the locks if the settlor lived alone.
  • Keep insurance on real estate and vehicles in force so a lapse does not expose the trust to a loss.
  • Redirect the mail so you can find bills, statements, and tax notices.

Open a Trust Account and Keep Money Separate

While the settlor was alive, a revocable trust usually used the settlor's Social Security number. After death, the trust needs its own Employer Identification Number (EIN), which you can request free from the IRS. Open a checking account in the trust's name using that EIN, and run every trust payment through it. Maryland law backs this habit. Under §14.5-810, a trustee must keep adequate records of the administration and keep trust property separate from the trustee's own property. Mixing trust money with your own is how a trustee loses the paper trail and invites a challenge. (Source: Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §14.5-810, mgaleg.maryland.gov.)

Step 3: Notify the Qualified Beneficiaries

This is the step the Maryland Trust Act spells out most clearly, and the one new trustees most often miss. Under Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §14.5-813, the duty to inform and report, you must do the following:

  • Within 60 days after you accept the trusteeship, notify the qualified beneficiaries that you accepted, and give them your name, address, and telephone number.
  • Within 90 days after you learn the trust has become irrevocable, which happens at the settlor's death, notify the qualified beneficiaries of the trust's existence, the settlor's identity, and their right to request a copy of the trust instrument and a trustee's report.
  • Promptly respond to a beneficiary's reasonable request for information about the administration.
  • Give a beneficiary a copy of the trust instrument on request.

Watch the two clocks. Maryland gives you 60 days on the acceptance notice but 90 days on the notice that the trust turned irrevocable, which is a longer window than some states allow. Send both in writing and keep a dated copy of each. That file is one of your best protections if a beneficiary later questions how you handled things. (Source: Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §14.5-813, mgaleg.maryland.gov.)

A qualified beneficiary is a beneficiary who currently receives or could receive distributions, or who would take if the trust ended now. Send the notices even when the beneficiaries are close family who already know the settlor died. The statute sets the requirement, and a written notice heads off later arguments about what you told people and when.

Step 4: Marshal and Value the Trust Assets

Under Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §14.5-809, you must take reasonable steps to take control of and protect the trust property. Build a full inventory of everything the trust owns:

  • Real estate, with a date-of-death appraisal for each parcel
  • Bank accounts and certificates of deposit
  • Investment and brokerage accounts
  • Retirement accounts or life insurance that name the trust as beneficiary
  • Business interests
  • Vehicles, jewelry, collectibles, and other personal property

Value each asset as of the date of death. Get professional appraisals for real estate, business interests, and high-value items. Accurate date-of-death values matter for taxes and for dividing assets fairly among beneficiaries. (Source: Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §14.5-809, mgaleg.maryland.gov.)

Watch for Assets the Trust Does Not Own

A trust only controls what was actually retitled into it. For a death before October 1, 2026 Maryland has no operative transfer-on-death deed (one was enacted in 2026 under Chapter 751 / House Bill 738, effective October 1, 2026), so a house someone meant to keep out of probate reaches you only if the deed was signed over to the trust during life. If the settlor signed a Maryland will but forgot to move an account or a deed into the trust, that asset may still need probate through the Register of Wills. Many people pair a trust with a pour-over will that sends leftover assets into the trust, but those assets usually pass through probate first. Maryland also offers a small estate track when the property subject to administration is $50,000 or less, or $100,000 or less when the surviving spouse is the sole legatee or heir. (Source: Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §5-601, mgaleg.maryland.gov.)

Step 5: Manage Assets Prudently

While you hold the trust property, you owe a duty of care. Under Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §14.5-804, you must administer the trust as a prudent person would, using reasonable care, skill, and caution, and weighing the purposes and terms of the trust. If the trust holds investments, the Maryland prudent investor standard in Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §15-114 sets how you invest and manage them: judge the portfolio as a whole, diversify unless there is a good reason not to, and keep costs reasonable. (Source: Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §14.5-804, mgaleg.maryland.gov; §15-114, mgaleg.maryland.gov.)

You also owe a duty of loyalty. Under §14.5-802, you must administer the trust solely in the interests of the beneficiaries, not for your own gain. A transaction that mixes your personal interest with the trust's, such as buying trust property for yourself, is voidable by an affected beneficiary unless the trust or a court allowed it. When in doubt, stay away from any deal that puts your interest against the trust's. (Source: Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §14.5-802, mgaleg.maryland.gov.)

You do not need to be a financial expert. You do need to act sensibly, keep records, and hire professional help for anything complicated.

Step 6: Pay Debts, Taxes, and Maryland Death Taxes

Before any beneficiary receives a distribution, settle what the trust and the settlor owe:

  • Final medical bills, utilities, and other valid debts
  • The settlor's final personal income tax return (federal Form 1040 and the Maryland return) for the year of death
  • A fiduciary income tax return (federal Form 1041 and the matching Maryland fiduciary return) if the trust earns enough income after death
  • Any Maryland inheritance tax on distributions that go to non-exempt takers
  • Any Maryland estate tax or federal estate tax, which reach only larger estates

Maryland is the one state that charges both a state estate tax and a separate inheritance tax, so a trustee has to check both. The inheritance tax is 10 percent on the clear value of property passing to more distant takers, such as a niece, nephew, cousin, or friend. It does not apply to a surviving spouse, a child or other lineal descendant, a parent, a grandparent, or a sibling. (Source: Md. Code, Tax-General §7-204, mgaleg.maryland.gov; §7-203, mgaleg.maryland.gov.) Maryland's estate tax carries a $5 million exemption that is not indexed and a top rate of 16 percent, and only estates above that exemption owe it. (Source: Md. Code, Tax-General §7-309, mgaleg.maryland.gov.)

Do not rush a distribution. If you pay out the trust and then find an unpaid debt or tax, you can be left personally responsible for the shortfall. Hold a reasonable reserve until you are confident the debts and taxes are covered. The way creditors present claims against a probate estate is spelled out in the Maryland creditor claims guide, and a CPA who handles trust and estate returns earns the fee on anything but the simplest trust.

Step 7: Keep Beneficiaries Informed and Account

The duty to inform does not end with the first notice. Under §14.5-813, you must keep the qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed about the administration. Maryland handles the formal accounting a little differently from a probate estate. On request by a qualified beneficiary, you must send that beneficiary a report at least annually and when the trust ends. The report lists the trust property and liabilities, the receipts and disbursements, your compensation and how you figured it, and the trust assets with their market values where feasible. (Source: Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §14.5-813, mgaleg.maryland.gov.)

Because the annual report runs on request in Maryland, do not treat a quiet beneficiary as a reason to skip records. Keep the accounting current whether or not anyone asks, so you can hand it over the day a request arrives. The Maryland probate accounting guide shows how a formal estate account is built, and a trustee's report tracks the same idea.

Practical habits that keep you out of trouble:

  • Send a written update to beneficiaries on a regular schedule, not only at the end.
  • Keep every receipt, statement, and appraisal in an organized file.
  • Answer reasonable questions promptly and in writing.
  • Get a signed receipt from each beneficiary when you hand over a distribution.

What You Can Be Paid

Under Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §14.5-708, a trustee is entitled to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances when the trust does not set a fee. If the trust does set your fee, you are paid as it states, though a court can adjust the amount if your duties differ greatly from what was expected or the stated figure is unreasonably high or low. Many family trustees waive a fee to leave more for the beneficiaries. If you do take a fee, show it in your report. (Source: Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §14.5-708, mgaleg.maryland.gov.)

Step 8: Distribute and Close the Trust

Once the debts and taxes are handled and the reserve is no longer needed, distribute what remains:

  • Make specific gifts first, the items or dollar amounts left to named people.
  • Distribute the residue, what is left after specific gifts and expenses, to the residuary beneficiaries.
  • Keep any sub-trust running if the document creates one, such as a trust for a minor or a beneficiary who should not receive a lump sum.

Before you hand over the last dollar, confirm no surviving spouse has a claim you have to satisfy. A Maryland surviving spouse can elect a share of the augmented estate, which can reach assets held in a revocable trust. The Maryland surviving spouse rights guide explains when that election applies and how it is figured.

To move real estate to a beneficiary, sign and record a trustee's deed with the land records office in the county or Baltimore City where the property sits. Get a signed receipt for every distribution. After the final report goes out and the last asset is distributed, the trust is settled.

How This Fits Into Your Estate Plan

Trust administration is one piece of a larger plan, and it works best when the other pieces are in place. A living trust holds and passes assets without probate, but it does not cover health care or out-of-trust property on its own. A Maryland financial power of attorney handles assets the trust does not hold. A valid Maryland will, often a pour-over will, catches anything left out of the trust. And the Maryland estate planning basics guide ties the documents together.

If you are deciding between these tools rather than administering an existing trust, the national will vs. trust comparison lays out the trade-offs. If some assets were never moved into the trust, the Maryland probate guide explains the court process those assets may still need.

The Bottom Line

As a Maryland successor trustee, your main duties come straight from the Maryland Trust Act: accept the role, take control of the property, send the qualified beneficiaries written notice within 60 days of accepting and within 90 days of the trust turning irrevocable under §14.5-813, manage the assets prudently, pay the settlor's debts and any Maryland inheritance tax, keep beneficiaries informed and account when they request it, and distribute what remains under the trust terms. Move carefully, document everything, and pay debts before you pay beneficiaries. For a real estate transfer, a tax filing, or any dispute, a Maryland trust attorney can keep a clean process from going sideways.

Common Questions

Does a Maryland trust go through the Register of Wills or Orphans' Court?

Usually not. A funded revocable living trust is administered by the successor trustee under the Maryland Trust Act, outside the Register of Wills and the Orphans' Court. Those offices step in only for assets that were left out of the trust and need probate, or if someone brings a dispute over the trust to court.

How long does a successor trustee have to notify beneficiaries in Maryland?

Under §14.5-813, you have 60 days after you accept the trusteeship to tell the qualified beneficiaries you accepted and give them your contact information, and 90 days after you learn the trust became irrevocable at the settlor's death to notify them of the trust and their right to request a copy of the trust and a report.

Does a Maryland trustee have to file an annual accounting?

Maryland does not require an automatic court accounting for a trust the way a probate estate is accounted to the Register of Wills. Under §14.5-813, you must send a qualified beneficiary a report at least annually and at termination on that beneficiary's request. Keep the accounting current so you can produce it when asked.

Does the trust owe Maryland inheritance tax?

It can. Maryland charges a 10 percent inheritance tax on property passing to more distant takers, such as a niece, nephew, cousin, or friend, and it exempts a surviving spouse, children and other lineal descendants, parents, grandparents, and siblings. A trustee distributing to a non-exempt beneficiary has to account for the tax. Larger trusts can also reach the Maryland estate tax above its $5 million exemption.

What is a successor trustee paid in Maryland?

Under §14.5-708, a trustee is entitled to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances when the trust does not set a fee. If the trust states a fee, you are paid that amount, though a court can adjust it if your duties differ greatly from what was expected or the figure is unreasonably high or low. Many family trustees waive the fee.

This guide is general information about Maryland trusts. It is not legal advice. Confirm anything that affects your situation with a licensed Maryland attorney who handles trusts and estates.

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

Information current as of July 21, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Maryland can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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