Maryland living trusts & estate documents

Living trust law in Maryland

A revocable living trust holds your home, accounts, and other property during your life, you stay in full control as trustee and can change or revoke it any time, then passes it to your beneficiaries without probate when you're gone. In Maryland, trusts are governed by the Maryland Trust Act, Est. & Trusts §14.5-101 et seq..

Avoiding probate in Maryland

Probate in Maryland is governed by the Md. Code, Estates and Trusts and handled by the Orphans' Court. Maryland offers modified administration; estates run through the Register of Wills/Orphans' Court.

Small estate administration for estates of $50,000 or less ($100,000 if the spouse is sole heir). That simplified procedure is set out in Est. & Trusts §5-601. Assets held in a funded living trust pass to your beneficiaries without probate, whatever the size of the estate. Many Maryland homeowners set one up for that reason. Maryland also authorizes a transfer-on-death deed, for transferors who die on or after October 1, 2026 (Md. Code, Real Prop. §§ 14-1001 to 14-1014, the Maryland Transfer-on-Death Deed Act, added by 2026 Md. Laws ch. 750 and ch. 751 (SB 651 and HB 738), effective October 1, 2026) to pass real estate outside probate. A living trust does the same for every asset, not just real estate.

Estate and inheritance tax in Maryland

Maryland is one of the few states with both an estate tax (paid by the estate) and an inheritance tax (paid by beneficiaries): Maryland has BOTH an estate tax ($5M exclusion) and an inheritance tax (exempting close relatives). The separate federal estate tax reaches only estates above $15 million per person (2026, adjusted yearly), so most families never owe it.

Protecting a surviving spouse in Maryland

Maryland also sets aside a family allowance of $10,000 for the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, plus $5,000 for each unmarried child of the decedent under 18 at the death (Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 3-201). If the estate's assets are insufficient to pay all claims in full, the personal representative pays the family allowance fifth, after fees due to the register, costs and expenses of administration, funeral expenses, and compensation of personal representatives, for legal services and commissions of licensed real estate brokers, and before unpaid child support, taxes and the other claims the section lists (§ 8-105, as amended by 2025 Md. Laws ch. 225, effective October 1, 2025).

Signing your Maryland documents

1. Sign the living trust. Executed and acknowledged before a notary.
2. Sign the will. Two witnesses, who sign in your presence (Md. Code, Est. & Trusts 4-102(b)). Maryland has no self-proving affidavit for a paper will and no notary requirement; the witnesses' signed statement in your will lets the register of wills accept it as properly signed (5-303) (standalone and pour-over wills).
3. Sign the power of attorney. Sign your Durable Power of Attorney before a Notary Public AND two adult witnesses; Maryland requires both. The witnesses watch you sign, then sign the witness attestation at the end of the document in your presence and in each other's presence. The Notary Public may serve as one of the two witnesses.
4. Sign the health care documents. Sign your Advance Directive in the presence of two adult witnesses, who then sign. No Notary Public is needed for this document. Your health care agent may not be a witness, and at least one witness must be a person who will not knowingly inherit from you or benefit financially from your death.
5. Follow your package instructions. Your package includes page-by-page signing instructions written for Maryland. Follow those as the authoritative guide.

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