How to Avoid Probate in Maryland

Why probate avoidance matters in Maryland

In Maryland, the cost of going through full probate is real: Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §7-601(b)(2) caps the personal-representative commission the court may allow at 9% of the first $20,000 of the property subject to administration plus 3.6% of the excess over $20,000, unless the will provides a larger measure (§7-601(b)(1)). The Register of Wills charges a probate fee that scales with the value of the probate estate, from $0 under $50,000 up to $10,000 plus 0.02% of the excess over $10 million (§2-206(b)(2)). Maryland has both an estate tax and an inheritance tax. Md. Code, Tax-Gen. §7-309(b)(3)(i)6 caps the unified credit used to determine the Maryland estate tax at the credit corresponding to an applicable exclusion amount of $5,000,000 for a decedent dying on or after 1 January 2019, "plus any deceased spousal unused exclusion amount calculated in accordance with paragraph (9) of this subsection". §7-204(b) sets the inheritance tax rate at 10% of the clear value of the property that passes from a decedent, which §7-204(a) defines as fair market value minus expenses. §7-203(b)(2) exempts property passing to the decedent’s grandparent, parent, spouse, child or lineal descendant of a child, the spouse of a child or of a lineal descendant of a child, the surviving spouse of a deceased child or deceased lineal descendant of a child, and the decedent’s brother or sister. We found no published source for what probate costs in total in Maryland as of September 2026.

That’s the bill you can avoid (or substantially reduce) by setting up the right legal tools before death. Most Maryland families can keep the majority of their estate out of probate using a few simple, low-cost moves.

The six tools that work in Maryland

1. Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance

Retirement accounts (401(k), 403(b), IRA, Roth IRA) and life insurance policies pass to the named beneficiary by operation of law — not through your will, and not through probate. This is true in every state, including Maryland.

Retirement accounts and life insurance pass outside probate to the beneficiary named on the form the plan or carrier holds. We found no independent published source for what share of a Maryland household’s net worth those assets represent, so no figure is stated here.

What to do today: log into every retirement and life insurance account, check the named primary and contingent beneficiaries, update anything that’s stale.

2. Payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts

A POD designation on a checking or savings account names a beneficiary who can claim the account directly after death by showing the death certificate. No probate, no waiting. Maryland banks let you add POD designations for free.

POD designations work particularly well for operating cash accounts your family will need fast to cover funeral and immediate expenses.

3. Transfer-on-death (TOD) brokerage accounts

The same idea applied to investment accounts. Maryland brokerages (Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, and most others) let you add TOD beneficiaries to taxable brokerage accounts. The account passes to the named beneficiary at death without probate, and the cost basis still gets the step-up that would have occurred through probate.

4. Joint ownership with right of survivorship

Property held jointly with right of survivorship passes automatically to the surviving owner. The most common example: a married couple’s primary home titled as joint tenants with right of survivorship (or, in some states, tenancy by the entirety). The survivor records the death certificate to update title; no probate.

A cautionary note: don’t add an adult child as joint owner just to avoid probate without talking to an estate attorney first. Joint ownership exposes the asset to the joint owner’s creditors and divorces while you’re alive, and can create cost-basis or gift-tax issues.

5. Maryland’s real estate transfer-at-death tool

Maryland has no transfer-on-death deed statute for real property; none was found in the Real Property article and no source publishing one is cited here. Maryland does have the uniform transfer-on-death security registration provisions at Md. Code, Est. & Trusts Title 16: §16-101(b) defines "beneficiary form" as a registration indicating the present owner and the person who will become the owner on the owner’s death, and §16-108(a)(1) provides that a registering entity "is not required to offer or to accept a request for security registration in beneficiary form", so the designation depends on the entity agreeing to it. §16-108(b) provides that by accepting such a request the registering entity agrees the registration will be implemented on the death of the deceased owner.

6. A funded revocable living trust

For assets that aren’t covered by the above tools — real estate in a state without a TOD deed, business interests, tangible personal property of significant value — a funded revocable living trust handles the rest. Assets titled in the trust skip probate; the successor trustee distributes them privately at death.

A trust earns its setup cost in Maryland when:

• You own real estate in more than one state (the trust avoids ancillary probate in each).
• You have a complex family situation (blended family, special-needs child).
• You want privacy.
• Your estate is substantial enough that the avoided probate cost exceeds the trust’s setup cost.

The first five tools above operate by title and beneficiary designation and apply regardless of estate size; a trust applies only to assets retitled into it. See Will vs. Trust: How They Differ for the attribute-by-attribute comparison.

Maryland’s small estate procedure

If the estate is small enough, Maryland offers a streamlined alternative to full probate:

Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §5-601(a) allows small-estate administration under §§5-602 through 5-607 where the property of the decedent subject to administration in Maryland "is established to have a value of $50,000 or less as of the date of the death". §5-601(b) allows an estate already in administration to move to that procedure on the same $50,000 test, and §5-601(c) raises the figure to $100,000 where "the surviving spouse is the sole legatee or heir" — both of those only if the change is made "before the filing of an initial account". §5-601(d) fixes the valuation basis: value is "the fair market value of property less debts of record secured by the property, as of the date of death, to the extent that insurance benefits are not payable to the lien holder or secured party".

A simple sequence for Maryland residents

1. Beneficiary designations on every retirement account, life insurance policy, and POD/TOD account.
2. Confirm how your house is titled. Married couples should generally use joint tenancy with right of survivorship (or tenancy by the entirety where available). Single owners should consider Maryland’s real-estate transfer tool described above.
3. Write a basic will to cover anything not handled above, and to name an executor and guardian for minor children.
4. Sign a financial POA and healthcare directive. These cover incapacity while you’re alive.
5. Only then evaluate whether you need a trust. Many Maryland families don’t.

Done in this order, most Maryland families can keep 80–95% of their estate out of probate for under $1,500 in legal fees and a few hours of paperwork.

What probate does that these transfers do not

Probate performs functions the non-probate transfers above do not replicate:

• It bars late creditor claims. Once Maryland’s creditor-claim period runs, claims filed afterwards are barred by statute. Assets transferred outside probate do not get that protection.
• It provides a forum for disputes. Will contests, heirship questions, and accounting challenges are resolved in the probate court.
• It confers formal authority. Letters issued by the court give the personal representative documented authority third parties are obliged to recognise.
• A simplified procedure may already apply. Estates within Maryland’s small-estate threshold use the statutory short-form procedure without additional instruments.

Two documented interactions to note: a beneficiary designation controls over the will for that asset, regardless of what the will says; and adding a joint owner during life exposes the asset to that owner’s creditors and divorce proceedings, and carries gift-tax and cost-basis consequences.

For a deeper dive on the avoidance tools beyond Maryland-specific procedures, see our How to Avoid Probate guide.

Related reading

• What Is Probate and How Does It Work? — the full plain-English explanation of the probate process.

• How to Avoid Probate — the general-purpose national guide to avoidance tools.

• Will vs. Trust: How They Differ — the documented differences, side by side.

• How Much Does Probate Cost in Maryland? — what you’re avoiding, in dollars.

• How Long Does Probate Take in Maryland? — what you’re avoiding, in months.

• Estate Planning Checklist — the full document and decision checklist.

---

This page explains Maryland probate avoidance in general terms as of 2026. It is not legal advice; specific rules and the availability of avoidance tools can change. Confirm current rules with a licensed Maryland attorney. Sources: Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §7-601 (PR commission cap), Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §7-602 (attorney compensation), Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §2-206 (Register of Wills fees), Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §5-601 (small estates), Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §8-103 (creditor claims), Md. Code, Tax-Gen. §7-204 (inheritance tax).