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 Small estate administration, Est. & Trusts §5-601. A funded living trust passes outside probate entirely, whatever the size of the estate — which is why Maryland homeowners in particular set one up.

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 spouse, plus $5,000 for each minor child for a surviving spouse and minor children (Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 3-201), protected ahead of most creditors.

Signing your Maryland documents

1. Sign the living trust. Executed and acknowledged before a notary.
2. Sign the will. Two witnesses; notarized self-proving affidavit included (standalone and pour-over wills).
3. Sign the power of attorney. Sign your Durable Power of Attorney before a Notary Public.
4. Sign the health care documents. Sign your Advance Health Care Directive in the presence of two adult witnesses and before a Notary Public, as the form’s execution block provides.
5. Follow your package instructions. Your package includes page-by-page signing instructions written for Maryland — follow those as the authoritative guide.

Serving all of Maryland

Answer the questionnaire from anywhere in Maryland and download your completed documents in minutes: Baltimore, Columbia, Germantown, Silver Spring, Frederick, Waldorf, Glen Burnie, Gaithersburg, Rockville, Ellicott City, Bethesda, Annapolis, and every community in between.