Settling Small Estates (MD)
In Maryland, small estates can significantly simplify probate via small estate administration, and regardless of estate size, probate is not required if an estate contains only assets exempt from probate.
Requirements for Small Estate Administration
In Maryland, an estate qualifies as "small" if its probate value is <$50,000 (or $100,000 if a surviving spouse is the sole inheritor).
In calculating estate value, you should value assets as of the date of death, and ignore any debts (other than secured debt such as liens and mortgages). Do not include assets that would not normally go through probate, such as community property with right of survivorship, assets with named beneficiaries (e.g., 401Ks, life insurance policies), and other standard probate exclusions.
Process
If the estate qualifies as small, you can simplify the probate process as follows:
- Petition: Submit a Small Estate Petition for Administration (Form RW-1103) and a copy of the death certificate to the court (see below)
- Notice: If it appears that the estate is solvent (can pay all debts), include a Small Estate Notice of Appointment (Form RW-1109) in the submission so the court can publish required notices
- Bond: Obtain and submit any bond Form RW-1115 required by the court (unless the requirement is waived by the will, or waived by all interested persons, or the estate has a gross value <$10K after accounting for expected family allowances and estate administration expenses
- Letters: The court will appoint you as personal representative for the estate, and give you your "Letters"
- Settle: After any required notice waiting period and hearing for objections, the court will give you permission to settle the estate in the normal manner (collect all assets, pay all obligations, distribute assets)
For statute details, see MD Est & Trusts Code §§ 5-601 to 608.
Vehicles and Boats
If the only property in the estate is a vehicle (or at most 2 vehicles), and a surviving spouse is the sole inheritor, then no probate administration is required and you can transfer the title(s) directly with the Motor Vehicle Administration.
If the only property in the estate is a boat worth <$5,000, and a surviving spouse is the sole inheritor, then no probate administration is required and you can transfer the title(s) directly with the agency that issued the original title.
Estate Settlement Considerations
Before paying any debts or making any distributions, be sure to account for any Family Entitlements in MD, which typically have priority over everything except expenses of the last illness, funeral charges, and any estate administrations expenses.
Even if the estate does not go through probate, you may still be entitled to Executor Compensation in MD, and this compensation also has priority over most estate debts.
Estate debts have priority over most distributions in turn, so before distributing assets you should resolve any estate debts. If the estate makes any distributions beyond amounts set aside for family entitlements, unpaid creditors have the right to sue the recipients for repayment using those excess distributions. Consequently, even if the settlement process does not require you to publish a Notice to Creditors, you may want to follow MD probate rules for finding estate debts, since doing so may limit the time creditors have to pursue repayment.
If estate solvency is uncertain, an executor should consider going through official probate for the increased creditor protection it offers. Alternately, such uncertainty can sometimes persuade creditors to forgive a portion of debts, since they will want to avoid legal expenses as well, and may prefer to get something rather than nothing.
See also Making Distributions.
No Small Estate Affidavit
Many people ask about using a small estate affidavit without any court involvement, but MD does not support such an affidavit. You must use above method (or full probate) for handling small estates in MD.
Court
In Maryland, the county Orphans' Court handles wills and estate probate. To find your court, use this link and click on the county name along the left side of the page.
Additional Information
If your estate doesn't qualify for a small estate approach, or you're simply interested in exploring standard probate, take a look at Probate in MD.
And since probate is just the court-supervised subset of winding up a person's affairs after death, you'll probably want to check out our Complete Guide to Estate Settlement in MD.
Finally, in case you're interested, details about handling small estates in other states can be found here: