Maryland estate administration
Small-estate limit: $50,000
This guide explains probate in Maryland: Maryland’s small-estate administration is a threshold-based court track through the Register of Wills. Modified administration is a separate consent-based track for qualifying solvent estates, with election, report, and distribution deadlines rather than a small-estate cap.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
Property subject to Maryland administration may use small-estate administration at $50,000 or less, or $100,000 or less when the surviving spouse is sole legatee or heir. Value is date-of-death fair market value less debts of record secured by the property to the extent insurance does not pay the secured debt. This court petition is distinct from modified administration, which is not a small-estate threshold track.
Small-estate administrationSimplified route
Property subject to Maryland administration may use small-estate administration at $50,000 or less, or $100,000 or less when the surviving spouse is sole legatee or heir. Value is date-of-death fair market value less debts of record secured by the property to the extent insurance does not pay the secured debt. This court petition is distinct from modified administration, which is not a small-estate threshold track.
Eligibility and caveatsCourt cost
The statewide probate fee is $0 below $50,000; $100 from $50,000 to below $100,000; $200 from $100,000 to below $500,000; $1,000 from $500,000 to below $1 million; $2,000 from $1 million to below $2.5 million; $5,000 from $2.5 million to below $5 million; $7,500 from $5 million to below $7.5 million; $10,000 from $7.5 million to below $10 million; and $10,000 plus 0.02% of excess over $10 million thereafter, with no stated cap.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
The court-selected commission may not exceed 9% of the first $20,000 of property subject to administration plus $1,800 and 3.6% of the excess over $20,000. A will may provide a larger measure; the statute calls compensation reasonable and permits renunciation. It states no separate extraordinary-services percentage.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
The general bar uses the earlier of a death-based outer period and an individual-notice period, while publication is weekly for three weeks and special claims have separate rules; one days value would misstate the framework.
Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 7-103 (Maryland General Assembly; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsMaryland decision map
Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the Maryland amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.
| Question | Recorded Maryland answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Small-estate administration | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $50,000 | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | No waiting-period number verified; The general bar uses the earlier of a death-based outer period and an individual-notice period, while publication is weekly for three weeks and special claims have separate rules; one days value would misstate the framework. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | 1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total. | Ask the Orphans’ Court / Register of Wills about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | The court-selected commission may not exceed 9% of the first $20,000 of property subject to administration plus $1,800 and 3.6% of the excess over $20,000. A will may provide a larger measure; the statute calls compensation reasonable and permits renunciation. It states no separate extraordinary-services percentage. The relevant base is gross probate property. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Arithmetic illustration
The recorded Maryland ceiling is $50,000, and it is tested against probate property within the rule's stated scope, on a basis this site records as net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. Counted that way, $37,500 sits below the Maryland figure and $62,500 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Maryland counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the Maryland ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $37,500 | Below $50,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $62,500 | Above $50,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Official material
Maryland publishes separate statewide packets for small estates and modified administration.
The Register of Wills receives filings and the Orphans’ Court exercises probate jurisdiction; the circuit court hears specified appeals.
Source trail
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
Reviewed source note: §5-601. (a) If 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 of the decedent, the estate may be administered in accordance with the provisions of §§ 5-602 through 5-607 of this subtitle. (b) If, before the filing of an initial account in administration proceedings instituted under Subtitle 3 or Subtitle 4 of this title, 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 of the decedent, the estate thereafter may be administered in accordance with the provisions of §§ 5-602 through 5-607 of this subtitle.
Reviewed source note: §5-602. A petition for administration of a small estate may be filed by any person entitled to administration pursuant to § 5-104 of this title and shall contain, in addition to the information required by §§ 5-201 and 5-202 of this title: (1) A statement that the petitioner has made a diligent search to discover all property and debts of the decedent; (2) A list of the known property and its value; (3) A list of the known creditors of the decedent, with the amount of each claim, including contingent and disputed claims; and (4) A statement of any legal proceedings pending in which the decedent was a party.
Reviewed source note: §5-702. An election for modified administration may be filed by a personal representative of an estate within 3 months from the date of appointment, if: (1) All residuary legatees of a testate decedent and the heirs at law of an intestate decedent are limited to: (i) The decedent's personal representative; (ii) Individuals or entities exempt from inheritance tax in the decedent's estate under § 7-203(b), (e), and (f) of the Tax - General Article; and (iii) Trusts under which each person who has a current interest in the trust is an individual or entity exempt from inheritance tax in the decedent's estate under § 7-203(b), (e), and (f) of the Tax - General Article; (2) The estate is solvent and sufficient assets exist to satisfy all testamentary gifts; (3) A verified final report under modified administration is filed within 10 months from the date of appointment; (4) Final distribution
Reviewed source note: §7-601. (a) (1) A personal representative or special administrator is entitled to reasonable compensation for services. (2) If a will provides a stated compensation for the personal representative, additional compensation shall be allowed if the provision is insufficient in the judgment of the court. (3) The personal representative or special administrator may renounce at any time all or a part of the right to compensation. (b) (1) Unless the will provides a larger measure of compensation, on petition filed in reasonable detail by the personal representative or special administrator the court may allow the commissions it considers appropriate.
Reviewed source note: Probate fees shall be assessed on the value of the probate estate at the following rates: If the Value of the Probate But Less The Fee Estate Is Than Is At Least (i) ��� -- $50,000 $0 (ii) ��� $50,000 $100,000 $100 (iii) ��� $100,000 $500,000 $200 (iv) ��� $500,000 $1,000,000 $1,000 (v) ��� $1,000,000 $2,500,000 $2,000 (vi) ��� $2,500,000 $5,000,000 $5,000 (vii) ��� $5,000,000 $7,500,000 $7,500 (viii) ��� $7,500,000 $10,000,000 $10,000 (ix) ��� $10,000,000 -- $10,000 plus .02% of excess over $10,000,000 (3) Except as provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection, for purposes of determinations under paragraph (2) of this subsection, the value of a probate estate is the amount, as reflected in the administration accounts filed in the proceedings, that equals: (i) The sum of: 1. The value of all inventories filed in the proceedings; 2. All principal and income receipts; and 3.
Reviewed source note: §7-103. (a) (1) After the appointment of a personal representative, the register shall have a notice of the appointment published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county of appointment once a week in 3 successive weeks, announcing the appointment and address of the personal representative, and notifying creditors of the estate to present their claims. (2) The personal representative shall file or have filed with the register a certification that a notice has been published. (b) The notice of appointment shall be substantially in the following form: "To all persons interested in the estate of.......................: This is to give notice that the undersigned, ......... whose address is ......... was, on ........., appointed personal representative of the estate of ......... who died on ...... (with) (without) a will.
Reviewed source note: §8-103. (a) Except as otherwise expressly provided by statute with respect to claims of the United States or the State, a claim against an estate of a decedent, whether due or to become due, absolute or contingent, liquidated or unliquidated, founded on contract, tort, or other legal basis, is forever barred against the estate, the personal representative, and the heirs and legatees, unless presented within the earlier of the following dates: (1) 6 months after the date of the decedent's death; or (2) 2 months after the personal representative mails or otherwise delivers to the creditor a copy of a notice in the form required by § 7-103 of this article or other written notice, notifying the creditor that the claim will be barred unless the creditor presents the claim within 2 months after the mailing or other delivery of the notice.