Most everyone knows it's important to have a will or estate plan.  Yet, most people put off estate planning because they assume it is complicated, expensive, or only for the wealthy. In Maryland, waiting is the expensive part. The state taxes estates at a threshold far below the federal one, it adds a second tax that no other neighboring jurisdiction imposes, and a brand-new law taking effect this fall changes how Maryland families can pass real estate to the next generation.  In other words, it costs you more to NOT have a plan then to pay to have one done before you need it. 

Real estate broker dispute attorney Maryland Here is what matters right now.

Maryland Taxes Estates Twice

Real estate and estate planning attorney Montgomery County Most people do not know this. Maryland is one of the only states in the country with both an estate tax and an inheritance tax.

The Maryland estate tax

  • Applies to estates above $5 million per person
  • That figure has not changed since 2019 and is not adjusted for inflation
  • The top Maryland rate is 16 percent
  • Married couples can protect up to $10 million, but only if portability is elected on a timely filed Maryland estate tax return. Miss that filing and the first spouse's exemption is gone permanently.

The Maryland inheritance tax

  • A flat 10 percent tax based on who receives the property
  • Exempt: spouses, children and other lineal descendants, parents and grandparents, siblings, and qualified charities
  • Not exempt: nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and unmarried partners

A client who leaves $200,000 to a favorite niece has unintentionally left the state $20,000 of it. That outcome is usually avoidable with the right structure.

Now consider a home purchased decades ago in Montgomery, Howard, or Anne Arundel County, plus retirement accounts, a TSP balance, and life insurance you own outright. Families who never considered themselves taxable frequently are.

New for October 2026: Transfer on Death Deeds

Have an Estate Administration attorney on your side is important because they are up on the laws and the ongoing changes that happen. Maryland has enacted the Maryland Transfer on Death Deed Act (HB 738 and SB 651), effective October 1, 2026. For the first time, Maryland property owners can record a deed naming a beneficiary who receives the property automatically at death, outside of probate.  If you live in Maryland, contact your attorney or the friendly Law office of Brian Gormley in Bethesda, MD for questions about this new update. 

Key points:

  • You keep full control during your lifetime and may sell, refinance, or change your mind
  • The beneficiary has no legal interest while you are living and does not need to consent
  • Revocation requires recording a document before death. A will cannot revoke a recorded TOD deed.
  • Qualifying primary and secondary residences are exempt from recordation and transfer taxes

A TOD deed is a useful tool, but it is a blunt one. It does nothing for incapacity, nothing for minor or spendthrift beneficiaries, and nothing to resolve a dispute among three children who inherit one house and disagree about selling it. Talk with counsel before assuming it replaces a full plan.

Probate in Maryland

It's important to know that, Maryland estates are administered through the Register of Wills in the county where the decedent lived.

  • Small estate: probate assets of $50,000 or less, or $100,000 or less when the surviving spouse is the sole heir. Fewer requirements and rarely any court involvement.
  • Regular estate: everything above that, which means formal notice, inventories, accountings, a creditor claim period, and a public file
  • Real estate in more than one jurisdiction, such as a Maryland home and a condo in the District, can require probate in each place. A funded revocable trust usually avoids that.

The Documents Families Actually Use First

Planning is not only about death. The documents and digital assets used most often operate while you are alive:

  • Financial power of attorney, so someone can manage accounts without a guardianship petition
  • Advance directive naming a health care agent, with a Maryland MOLST form where appropriate
  • Guardian nominations for minor children
  • Beneficiary designations, reviewed and coordinated, since retirement accounts and life insurance pass outside your will
  • A will or revocable trust that reflects your current family, not the one you had fifteen years ago

Talk With a Maryland Estate Planning Attorney

The Law Office of Brian Gormley has served clients in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia since 2003, handling estate planning, trusts, probate, and guardianship matters.