Settle a small estate in Maryland without probate

In Maryland this is called: Small estate (Petition for Administration of a Small Estate, filed with the Register of Wills). Maryland has no small estate affidavit that you hand to a bank. Instead, if the person's probate property in Maryland is worth $50,000 or less ($100,000 or less if the surviving spouse is the only heir or beneficiary), a short 'small estate' case is opened with the Register of Wills, which appoints a personal representative who collects the property, pays bills and hands out what is left.

Up to $50,000, filed with a court.

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Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.

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Free tools

Small estate checker

Add up the estate and compare it with the Maryland limit for the date of death.

Balance request letter

Ask a bank or holder for the balance on the date of death.

What-to-gather checklist

Papers, steps, forms and fees for Maryland, by procedure.

Car, bank, house in Maryland

Car or other vehicle

If the vehicle was owned only by the person who died, the MVA accepts only the original letters of administration (with the Register of Wills' raised seal), which a small estate case provides.

Bank accounts

Money in a joint account with a surviving owner, or in a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death account, goes to that person under the account terms and does not need an estate.

House or land

Since October 1, 2026, a Maryland owner can sign a transfer-on-death deed so real property passes to named beneficiaries at death without probate.

Administration of a Small Estate (Petition for Administration of a Small Estate, form RW1103)

A short estate case opened with the Register of Wills in the county where the person lived. The register appoints a personal representative and issues letters of administration, which banks and the MVA accept to release or transfer the person's property.

Limit

Up to $50,000 Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).

The person's probate property in Maryland must be worth $50,000 or less on the date of death, after subtracting debts of record secured by the property. The limit is $100,000 or less if the surviving spouse is the only heir or beneficiary (see the spouse procedure).

What counts

The value on the date of death of the person's property in Maryland that goes through probate (property in the person's name alone or as a tenant in common). Each item is valued at fair market value minus debts of record secured by that item, such as a mortgage or car loan. Property that passes to someone else by its own terms or by law (joint, payable-on-death, beneficiary, trust property) is not counted.

Waiting period

The law sets no waiting period to file the petition. If property remains after funeral costs and family allowances are paid, a notice is published once in a newspaper: people have 30 days from publication to object, and creditors must file claims by the earlier of 6 months after the death or 30 days after the personal representative mails or delivers a notice to them.

Who can use it

Any person entitled to be personal representative under Maryland's order of priority: first the personal representative named in the will, then the surviving spouse, registered domestic partner and children (no will) or the surviving spouse (with a will), then residuary beneficiaries, grandchildren, parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, the largest creditor and others. People with equal or higher priority may need to sign a Consent to Appointment. The petitioner must be at least 18 and meet the citizenship, residency or family-relationship rules stated on the petition; a personal representative who lives outside Maryland must appoint a Maryland resident agent.

Court or where to file

Register of Wills (Orphans' Court) in the county where the person was domiciled at death. If the person did not live in Maryland, the petition states why that county is the proper office.

Notary

The petition and schedules are signed under penalties of perjury; the forms have no notary block.

Papers to attach

Death certificate (original or copy) or other proof of death
The original will, if there is one
Schedule B: every asset in the person's name alone or as tenant in common with its date-of-death value and how the value was found, and every known creditor and claim
Date-of-death statements for bank and other financial accounts, stock information, vehicle titles, and the tax assessment value for any real property
List of Interested Persons, listing all heirs even if there is a will
Consent to Appointment of Personal Representative, if needed
Documentation of funeral expenses
Appointment of Resident Agent, if the personal representative lives outside Maryland
Information Report and, if the person owned firearms, the firearms affidavit

Steps

Call or visit the Register of Wills in the county where the person lived to confirm the forms and documents needed.
Gather the death certificate, any original will, and date-of-death values for everything in the person's name alone.
Fill in the Small Estate Petition (RW1103), Schedule B (RW1137), the List of Interested Persons (RW1104) and the other forms in the Small Estate Packet.
File them with the Register of Wills. If the register finds the papers accurate, it appoints you personal representative and issues letters of administration.
The register directs payment of allowable funeral expenses and family allowances. If property is left over, the will (if any) is admitted and the Small Estate Notice (RW1109) is published one time.
Use the letters to collect the property, pay proper claims after the claim period ends, and distribute what is left under the will or Maryland's inheritance law.
Report any property found later by a supplemental petition. If it raises the total above the limit, the estate continues as a regular estate.

Fee

The Registers of Wills' fee schedule shows no probate fee for an estate valued under $50,000 opened on or after October 1, 2022, and no fees on a small estate where the spouse is the only heir or beneficiary (up to $100,000). Four certificates of letters are included; each extra one costs $1. If notice must be published, the newspaper charges for publication, and some registers collect that payment when the estate is opened. A bond is not required if the estate is under $10,000 after funeral costs and allowances are paid.

If you can't pay

A register of wills must waive its fees if the estate cannot pay them because of poverty and the person's Maryland real estate is going to an heir who lives on it, or has a tax-sale lien against it.

Debts and responsibility

A personal representative of a small estate is not personally liable for paying claims or distributing property under these rules if, at the time, they had no actual knowledge of a valid, unbarred claim that had not been filed with the register. A personal representative of a small estate is not paid a commission.

Forms

Law: Md. Code, Est. & Trusts secs. 5-601 to 5-607, 5-104, 2-206

Source: Official page

Small estate when the surviving spouse is the only heir or beneficiary

The same small estate case, with a higher limit and no register fees, when the surviving spouse is the only person who inherits under the will or under Maryland's inheritance law.

Limit

Up to $100,000 Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).

If the surviving spouse is the only heir or beneficiary, the person's probate property in Maryland can be worth up to $100,000 on the date of death, after subtracting debts of record secured by the property.

What counts

Same rule as the regular small estate: probate property in Maryland at fair market value on the date of death, minus debts of record secured by the property.

Waiting period

The law sets no waiting period to file. The same notice and claim deadlines as the regular small estate apply if property remains after funeral costs and allowances.

Who can use it

The surviving spouse, when the spouse is the only heir or beneficiary.

Court or where to file

Notary

Signed under penalties of perjury.

Papers to attach

Same documents as the regular small estate (death certificate, any original will, Schedule B with date-of-death values, List of Interested Persons)

Steps

Contact the Register of Wills in the county where the person lived.
Fill in the Small Estate Packet forms, showing that the spouse is the only heir or beneficiary.
File them with the Register of Wills and follow the same small estate steps.

Fee

The register may not charge fees in a small estate where the surviving spouse is the only heir or beneficiary and the property is worth $100,000 or less. Newspaper publication, if needed, is billed by the newspaper.

If you can't pay

A register of wills must waive its fees if the estate cannot pay them because of poverty and the person's Maryland real estate is going to an heir who lives on it, or has a tax-sale lien against it.

Debts and responsibility

Same as the regular small estate: no personal liability for the personal representative who pays and distributes without actual knowledge of a valid unbarred claim not filed with the register.

Forms

Small Estate Packet (Register of Wills, Rev. 10/01/2026)

Law: Md. Code, Est. & Trusts secs. 5-601(c), 5-605(c), 5-606(c)

Source: Official page

Surviving spouse transfer of vehicles or a small boat without estate administration

If the person left nothing but one or two motor vehicles (or only a boat worth $5,000 or less) and the surviving spouse is the only heir or beneficiary, no estate needs to be opened. The spouse transfers the title directly with the agency that issued it.

Waiting period: The law sets no waiting period.
Who can use it: The surviving spouse, only when the spouse is the only heir or beneficiary and the person owned no other property.
Court or where to file: Given to the Motor Vehicle Administration (for vehicles) or the agency that issued the boat's title.
Notary: On MVA form VR-481 the spouse certifies under penalty of perjury and agrees to indemnify the MVA.
Papers to attach: Copy of the death certificate
Proof of the marriage
The vehicle title
Lien release or lienholder's authorization letter, if there was a loan
For a boat: proof of value, which may be a statement signed by two people who know boat values that it is worth $5,000 or less
Steps: Confirm the person owned nothing else and that you are the only heir or beneficiary.
Pay all of the person's debts and taxes (you certify that they are paid).
Fill in MVA form VR-481 for up to two vehicles.
Bring the form, the title, the death certificate and proof of marriage to the MVA.
Fee: No excise tax is due when a deceased person's Maryland-titled vehicle goes to a surviving spouse, joint owner, heir or beneficiary. The MVA says the title fee is waived when a vehicle titled to both spouses passes to the surviving spouse; other MVA fees are on its fee page.
Debts and responsibility: On form VR-481 the spouse agrees to indemnify and hold the MVA harmless for any loss caused by the transfer.
What the bank or holder must do: If the conditions are met, the MVA may transfer title to the surviving spouse without estate administration.
Forms: MVA VR-481 Application for Exemption from Estate Administration to Transfer a Decedent's Vehicle (05-26)

Law: Md. Code, Est. & Trusts sec. 5-608

Source: Official page

What counts toward the limit in Maryland

Add up the date-of-death value of the person's property in Maryland that goes through probate: things in the person's name alone or as a tenant in common. For each item, subtract only debts of record secured by that item (such as a mortgage or car loan), unless insurance pays that lender. Other debts are not subtracted. Leave out property that passes to someone else by its own terms or by law.

Law: Md. Code, Est. & Trusts secs. 1-101(s), 5-601

In this state the total is counted after subtracting liens.

Kind of property	How it is treated	Details
Bank accounts in the person's name alone	Counts	Bank accounts in the person's name alone with no payable-on-death beneficiary count. Law: Est. & Trusts 1-101(s), 5-601
Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts	Left out	Joint accounts with a surviving owner and payable-on-death accounts pass to that person by the account terms, so they are not counted. Law: Est. & Trusts 1-101(s); Fin. Inst. 1-204
Cars and other vehicles	Counts	A vehicle in the person's name alone counts at its value minus any recorded loan. If the person left only one or two vehicles and the spouse is the only heir, the spouse can transfer them without opening an estate. Law: Est. & Trusts 5-601(d), 5-608(a)
Boats and mobile or manufactured homes	Counts	A boat or other titled property in the person's name alone counts at its value minus any recorded loan. A boat worth $5,000 or less that is the only property can pass to a spouse who is the only heir without an estate. Law: Est. & Trusts 5-601(d), 5-608(b)
Real estate in Maryland	Counts	Maryland real estate in the person's name alone or as a tenant in common counts at fair market value minus any recorded mortgage or other secured debt. The register accepts the tax assessment value instead of a formal appraisal. Law: Est. & Trusts 5-601(d)
Main home (primary residence)	Counts	The person's home counts the same way as other Maryland real estate, at value minus any recorded mortgage, unless it passes by joint ownership or a recorded transfer-on-death deed. Law: Est. & Trusts 5-601(d), 1-101(s)
Real estate in another state	Left out	Only property 'subject to administration in Maryland' is counted, so real estate in another state is left out. Law: Est. & Trusts 5-601(a)
Unpaid wages owed to the person	Not clear	Ask the Register of Wills how to list unpaid wages owed to the person. Law: Est. & Trusts 5-601
Military pay owed to the person	Not clear	Ask the Register of Wills how to list military pay owed to the person. Law: Est. & Trusts 5-601
Life insurance or retirement money paid to a named person	Left out	Life insurance, annuities and retirement benefits paid to a named beneficiary pass by their own terms and are not counted. Law: Est. & Trusts 1-101(s)
Life insurance or retirement money paid to the estate	Counts	Insurance or retirement money payable to the person's estate counts. Law: Est. & Trusts 1-101(s), 5-601
Property in a living trust	Left out	Property held in a trust passes under the trust document and is not counted. Law: Est. & Trusts 1-101(s)
Property owned jointly with right of survivorship	Left out	Property owned jointly with a right of survivorship (including tenancy by the entirety) passes to the surviving owner by law and is not counted. Property owned as tenants in common does count. Law: Est. & Trusts 1-101(s); form RW1137
Property going to a surviving spouse	Counts	Probate property that goes to the surviving spouse still counts. If the spouse is the only heir or beneficiary, the limit is $100,000 instead of $50,000. Law: Est. & Trusts 5-601(c)
Stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts	Counts	Stocks and bonds in the person's name alone count. Securities registered with a transfer-on-death beneficiary pass to that beneficiary and are not counted. Law: Est. & Trusts 1-101(s), 16-101 et seq
Furniture, jewelry and other belongings	Counts	Furniture, jewelry and other belongings in the person's name count at fair market value. Law: Est. & Trusts 1-101(s), 5-601(d)

Source: Official page

Car or vehicle title after a death in Maryland

If the vehicle was owned only by the person who died, the MVA accepts only the original letters of administration (with the Register of Wills' raised seal), which a small estate case provides. The heir, beneficiary or personal representative completes the assignment of ownership on the title and brings the letters to a titling appointment. If the surviving spouse is the only heir and the person left only one or two vehicles and no other property, the spouse can use form VR-481 with no estate. A surviving joint owner retitles the vehicle with the title, a certified copy of the death certificate (or the MVA's letter) and the registration card.

Law: Md. Code, Est. & Trusts sec. 5-608; Md. Code, Transp. sec. 13-115

Agency: Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA)
Form: VR-481 Application for Exemption from Estate Administration to Transfer a Decedent's Vehicle
Fee: No excise tax is due when the vehicle goes to a surviving spouse, joint owner, heir or beneficiary. Title fees are listed on the MVA fees page; the title fee is waived for a vehicle titled to both spouses that passes to the surviving spouse.
Transfer-on-death title: A sole owner can name a transfer-on-death beneficiary for a Maryland vehicle. After the owner dies, the beneficiary applies for a new title with the original title, a death certificate, proof of identity and any taxes or fees.

Source: Official page

Bank accounts after a death in Maryland

Money in a joint account with a surviving owner, or in a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death account, goes to that person under the account terms and does not need an estate. For an account in the person's name alone, Maryland has no affidavit you can give the bank: a personal representative appointed by the Register of Wills (in a small or regular estate) collects it with letters of administration. A limited order from the Register of Wills can let a family member search for assets in the person's name alone or for a will in a safe deposit box.

Law: Md. Code, Fin. Inst. sec. 1-204; Est. & Trusts secs. 1-101(s), 5-601 to 5-607

Source: Official page

Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in Maryland

Real estate (TOD deed)

Yes · Transfer-on-death deed (Maryland Transfer-on-Death Deed Act)

Since October 1, 2026, a Maryland owner can sign a transfer-on-death deed so real property passes to named beneficiaries at death without probate. The deed must meet the normal deed requirements, be signed and acknowledged before a notary, say the transfer happens at the owner's death, and be recorded in the county land records before the owner dies. The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgage or lien. A beneficiary may record a notice of the owner's death, but it is not required for the transfer. The law applies to owners who die on or after October 1, 2026, including deeds signed before that date.

Law: Md. Code, Real Prop. secs. 14-1001 to 14-1014 (2026 Md. Laws ch. 750)

Vehicle title (TOD)

Yes

Law: Md. Code, Transp. sec. 13-115

Bank account (POD)

Yes

Law: Md. Code, Fin. Inst. sec. 1-204

Securities (TOD)

Yes

Law: Md. Code, Est. & Trusts secs. 16-101 et seq

Source: Official page

Surviving spouse in Maryland

If the surviving spouse is the only heir or beneficiary, the small estate limit is $100,000 instead of $50,000, and the Register of Wills charges no fees. If the person left only one or two vehicles (or a boat worth $5,000 or less) and nothing else, the spouse who is the only heir can transfer them without any estate. In an estate, a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner is entitled to a $10,000 family allowance, and each unmarried child under 18 to $5,000.

Debts of the person in Maryland

In a small estate, the register first directs payment of allowable funeral expenses and family allowances. Funeral expenses allowed without a special court order are capped at $15,000. Creditors must present claims by the earlier of 6 months after the death or 30 days after the personal representative mails or delivers notice to them; claims not presented in time are barred. Proper claims are then paid in the order of priority set by law before anything is distributed.

Medicaid estate recovery in Maryland

The Maryland Department of Health may file a claim against the estate of a person who received Medicaid (Medical Assistance) for the amount it paid, and usually does so by filing a claim in the open estate. Its claim is barred unless presented by the earlier of 6 months after the first published notice of the personal representative's appointment, or 2 months after the personal representative mails or delivers notice to the Department's recoveries division. The Department does not recover if the person is survived by a spouse, an unmarried child under 21, or a blind or disabled child. It must waive the claim if enforcing it would cause substantial hardship to surviving dependents.

Law: Md. Code, Health-Gen. sec. 15-121; Est. & Trusts sec. 8-103(f); COMAR 10.09.24.15

Agency: Maryland Department of Health, Division of Recoveries and Financial Services (Medical Assistance recoveries)
Official page: Official page

Who inherits with no will in Maryland

If there is no will and there is a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner: they get everything if there are no children or other descendants; one-half if there is a child under 18; and the first $100,000 plus one-half of the rest if all children are adults but at least one is not also the spouse's child. Whatever does not go to the spouse goes to the person's children (or descendants of a child who died) in equal shares. With no spouse and no descendants, the estate goes to the parents, then to brothers, sisters and their descendants, then to grandparents and their descendants, and finally to stepchildren.

Law: Md. Code, Est. & Trusts secs. 3-102 to 3-104

Source: Official page

Death certificates in Maryland

The Register of Wills does not issue death certificates. Order certified copies from the Vital Statistics Administration. The recorded fee line is (410) 764-3038. Many agencies accept a copy; ask whether a copy is enough before you buy more certified copies.

Law: Register of Wills FAQ 1.13

Where to get it: Maryland Department of Health, Vital Statistics Administration
Official page: Official page

Where to file in Maryland

Small estate papers are filed with the Register of Wills in the county (or Baltimore City) where the person was domiciled at death. Each register's office can explain which forms you need, and register staff are required by law to help people prepare probate forms. The surviving spouse's vehicle transfer without an estate goes straight to the MVA with form VR-481. A transfer-on-death deed is recorded in the land records of the county where the property is.

Good to know in Maryland

Property distributed from an estate that qualifies as a small estate is exempt from Maryland's inheritance tax.
The Register of Wills must help people prepare administrative probate forms, though it does not give legal advice on deeds or vehicle titles.
If property found later pushes the total above $50,000 (or $100,000 when everything goes to the spouse), the small estate must continue as a regular estate.

Changes in 2024–2026

2026 Md. Laws ch. 750, effective October 1, 2026: the Maryland Transfer-on-Death Deed Act (Real Prop. secs. 14-1001 to 14-1014) lets owners pass real property at death by a recorded TOD deed; it applies to owners who die on or after October 1, 2026, and exempts TOD deeds for a primary or secondary residence from recordation and transfer taxes. The Register of Wills Small Estate Packet and petition RW1103 were revised October 1, 2026. The small estate limits ($50,000; $100,000 for a spouse who is the only heir) did not change.

National rules that apply in every state

Federal estate tax

For a person who died in 2026, a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only if the gross estate, plus certain lifetime taxable gifts, is more than $15,000,000.
Most estates owe no federal estate tax and do not need to file a federal estate tax return.

Law: 26 U.S.C. 2010(c)(3) (as amended by Pub. L. 119-21)

The final income tax return

Report all income up to the date of death and claim all eligible credits and deductions.
Someone must file the final federal income tax return of a person who died, the same way it would have been filed if they were alive.
To claim a refund due to the person who died, attach Form 1310 (Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer).

Law: Form 1310 instructions (Rev. December 2025)

Social Security retirement benefits are paid through the month before the month the person died.
If the person had enough Social Security work credits (was fully or currently insured), a one-time death payment of $255 (or three times the person's basic benefit, if that is smaller) can be paid to a surviving spouse who lived with the person.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 402(a), 402(i)

Savings bonds

If the person's savings bonds and other Treasury securities held directly with the Treasury are worth more than $100,000 at the date of death, the Treasury requires a court-administered estate.

Law: 31 CFR 353.71; FS Form 5336 (Rev. April 2026)

Debts are generally paid from the money and property the person left (the estate).
If the estate cannot pay a debt and no one else shared responsibility for it, the debt may go unpaid.
You may have to pay if you co-signed the loan, were a joint account holder on a credit card (not just an authorized user), or state law makes a spouse responsible for certain debts, such as in community property states or states with laws on necessary costs like health care.

Law: 12 CFR 1006.6(a)(4)

For a home with fewer than five units, a lender may not call the whole loan due just because the home passes to a relative after the borrower's death, to a spouse or children who become owners, or to a surviving joint owner.
Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-do-i-get-mortgage-information-about-a-home-i-inherited-en-217/
Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/i-recently-inherited-a-house-the-mortgage-lender-said-its-required-to-determine-my-ability-to-repay-before-it-will-let-me-take-over-the-mortgage-loan-is-this-true-en-1939/

Law: 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)(3), (5), (6); 12 CFR 1024.30(d), 1024.31

FDIC insurance on bank accounts

After a deposit owner dies, FDIC insurance on the account stays the same for six months, unless the account is restructured.

Law: 12 CFR 330.3(j)

Medicaid estate recovery

States must try to recover some Medicaid costs from the estate of a person who got benefits at age 55 or older: nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services.
The 'estate' includes at least the property in the person's probate estate under state law.
Https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/42/1396p?type=usc&year=mostrecent&link-type=html

Law: 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)

Certified copies of a death certificate come from the vital records office of the state where the death happened, not from the federal government.

Free help in Maryland

A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.

More help on our sister sites

Questions about small estates in Maryland

What is a small estate affidavit called in Maryland?

What is the small estate limit in Maryland?

Up to $50,000, filed with a court.

How long do I wait in Maryland?

Do I have to go to court in Maryland?

Register of Wills (Orphans' Court) in the county where the person was domiciled at death. If the person did not live in Maryland, the petition states why that county is the proper office.

How do I transfer a car after a death in Maryland?

If the vehicle was owned only by the person who died, the MVA accepts only the original letters of administration (with the Register of Wills' raised seal), which a small estate case provides.

What happens to a bank account after a death in Maryland?

Who inherits in Maryland if there is no will?

Do I owe the person's debts in Maryland?

Sources

Settle a small estate in Maryland without probate

Free tools

Small estate checker

Balance request letter

What-to-gather checklist

Car, bank, house in Maryland

Car or other vehicle

Bank accounts

House or land

Related pages

Administration of a Small Estate (Petition for Administration of a Small Estate, form RW1103)

Small estate when the surviving spouse is the only heir or beneficiary

Surviving spouse transfer of vehicles or a small boat without estate administration

What counts toward the limit in Maryland

Car or vehicle title after a death in Maryland

Bank accounts after a death in Maryland

Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in Maryland

Surviving spouse in Maryland

Debts of the person in Maryland

Medicaid estate recovery in Maryland

Who inherits with no will in Maryland

Death certificates in Maryland

Where to file in Maryland

Good to know in Maryland

Changes in 2024–2026

National rules that apply in every state

Federal estate tax

The final income tax return

Social Security

Savings bonds

Debts

A house with a mortgage

FDIC insurance on bank accounts

Medicaid estate recovery

Death certificates

Free help in Maryland

More help on our sister sites

Questions about small estates in Maryland