Ashford International Law P.C.

Where a Maryland domiciliary dies without a valid last will and testament, the Maryland intestacy statute determines who receives the property that passes through the estate, together with any Maryland real estate, whatever the domicile of its owner. The statute is found in Title 3 of the Estates and Trusts Article of the Maryland Code. Its central provision, the share of the surviving spouse, was rewritten with effect from October 1, 2023, and descriptions of the law published before that date are no longer accurate for later deaths. This page sets out the rules as they stand in September 2026. The overview of statutory succession compares Maryland with Virginia, the District of Columbia, California and Germany.

Summary

1. The surviving spouse or registered domestic partner receives the entire intestate estate, unless a minor child survives or the decedent leaves descendants who are not also descendants of the spouse.
2. Property not passing to the spouse passes to the descendants, then to the parents and their descendants, then in two halves to the grandparents and their descendants on each side, and then to the decedent’s stepchildren.
3. Relatives must survive the decedent by 30 full days for deaths before October 1, 2026. Relatives of the half blood inherit as if they were of the whole blood.
4. An intestate share passing to a niece, a nephew, a cousin or an unregistered partner is subject to the Maryland inheritance tax of 10 percent, in addition to any Maryland estate tax.
5. The personal representative is appointed by the Register of Wills or the Orphans’ Court. A bond is required unless all interested persons excuse it.

Part I. The estate subject to the statute

The statute applies to the net estate: the property of the decedent that passes through administration, after payment of debts, expenses of administration and family allowances. Property held by spouses as tenants by the entirety, property held in joint tenancy with a right of survivorship, accounts with a payable-on-death designation, life insurance, retirement accounts and trust assets pass outside the estate and are not affected. Under the traditional conflict rule, Maryland law governs succession to movable property of a person domiciled in Maryland and to real estate located in Maryland, irrespective of the owner’s domicile.

Part II. The surviving spouse or registered domestic partner

Since October 1, 2023, the spouse or registered domestic partner receives the entire intestate estate as the rule (Est. & Trusts § 3-102(a)). The statute provides two exceptions. If a minor child survives, the share is one-half (§ 3-102(b)). If no minor child survives but the decedent leaves descendants who are not descendants of the spouse or partner, the share is the first $100,000 plus one-half of the residue (§ 3-102(c)). The surviving parents of the decedent no longer reduce the spouse’s share.

Est. & Trusts § 3-102. Deaths before October 1, 2023 remain subject to the former text.

Two consequences follow. First, the result depends on the ages of the children at the date of death. Where the youngest child is 17 at the date of death, the spouse receives one-half of the estate; had the death occurred one year later, the spouse would have received the entire estate. The share passing to a minor child passes to the child outright and ordinarily requires a guardianship of the property until majority. Second, the share of a surviving spouse in a second marriage is reduced where the decedent has children from an earlier relationship, even if those children are adults and financially independent.

Property passing to a spouse who is not a United States citizen does not qualify for the federal marital deduction unless it passes to a qualified domestic trust (IRC § 2056(d)). An intestate share may be transferred to such a trust before the federal estate tax return is filed.

Part III. Descendants, parents and other relatives

The part of the net estate that does not pass to the spouse, and the entire net estate where there is no spouse, passes to the decedent’s descendants by representation (Est. & Trusts §§ 1-210 and 3-103). Where no descendant survives and there is no spouse, the estate passes in the following order (Est. & Trusts §§ 3-104 and 3-105):

1. to the parents in equal shares, or entirely to the surviving parent;
2. if neither parent survives, to the descendants of the parents by representation;
3. if there are none, one-half to the paternal grandparents or their descendants and one-half to the maternal grandparents or their descendants, with the whole passing to one side if the other has no member;
4. if there are none, to the stepchildren of the decedent and their descendants, a stepchild being the child of a spouse from whom the decedent was not divorced;
5. if there are none, the estate escheats to the board of education of the county in which administration is granted or, where the decedent received long-term care benefits under the Maryland Medical Assistance Program, to the Maryland Department of Health.

Maryland is unusual in admitting stepchildren as heirs. Neither Virginia nor the District of Columbia does so at this stage of the order.

Part IV. Particular family situations

Part V. Administration without a will

A person who dies intestate has named no personal representative. The Register of Wills, in administrative probate, or the Orphans’ Court, in judicial probate, appoints a personal representative according to the statutory order of priority. The surviving spouse, the registered domestic partner and the children share first priority among the relatives, followed by grandchildren, parents, brothers and sisters and other relatives entitled to share in the estate, and then by the largest creditor (Est. & Trusts § 5-104). A nonresident of Maryland may serve after designating a Maryland resident agent to accept service of process (Est. & Trusts § 5-105). For appointments before October 1, 2026, a foreign national may serve only as a lawful permanent resident who is the decedent’s spouse, ancestor, descendant or sibling; that restriction is repealed from October 1, 2026 (2026 Md. Laws ch. 537).

Without a will, there is no waiver of bond. A bond is required unless all interested persons consent to excuse it (Est. & Trusts § 6-102), and the premium is an expense of the estate. Where the property subject to administration does not exceed $50,000, or $100,000 where the spouse or registered domestic partner is the sole heir, the estate may be administered as a small estate (Est. & Trusts § 5-601). Larger estates may qualify for modified administration, a shortened procedure with a final report in place of periodic accounts, if the statutory conditions are satisfied (Est. & Trusts § 5-701 and following).

Part VI. Tax consequences

Maryland levies both an inheritance tax and an estate tax. The inheritance tax is imposed at 10 percent on property passing to persons outside the exempt circle (Tax-General §§ 7-203 and 7-204). Spouses, registered domestic partners, children and their descendants, stepchildren, parents, stepparents, grandparents, siblings and the spouses of children are exempt. Nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and unregistered partners are not. Because the estate of an unmarried decedent without descendants or surviving parents passes to siblings and, where siblings have died, to nieces and nephews, intestacy frequently produces inheritance tax that a will could have planned for.

The Maryland estate tax applies to estates exceeding $5,000,000, at rates of up to 16 percent, and the inheritance tax paid is credited against it. The unused Maryland exemption of a deceased spouse may be carried over to the surviving spouse if the election is made. For deaths in 2026, the federal basic exclusion amount is $15,000,000. Where the statute sends one-half of the estate to minor children, the part passing to the children does not qualify for the marital deduction, and Maryland estate tax may become payable at the first death.

Part VII. Heirs and assets outside Maryland

Foreign nationality does not prevent a person from inheriting under Maryland law. The practical questions concern the appointment of the personal representative, the documentation of the heirs’ identity and relationship, and the tax formalities of a later sale of Maryland real estate, which is subject to withholding where the seller is a foreign person.

Where a Maryland domiciliary owns real estate in Germany, a German court applies the EU Succession Regulation. It applies Maryland law as the law of the last habitual residence (Art. 21), but accepts Maryland’s reference to the law of the place where the real estate lies (Art. 34(1)(a)). The German real estate therefore passes under German statutory succession, in shares that may differ from the Maryland shares, as described on the page on statutory succession in Germany. Conversely, Maryland real estate of a decedent living abroad passes under the Maryland statute and requires a Maryland proceeding. For deaths on or after July 1, 2026, a nonresident decedent’s intangible property is no longer subject to the Maryland inheritance tax (2026 Md. Laws ch. 504), while Maryland real estate remains within its scope.

Part VIII. Practical steps

1. Establish whether the decedent was domiciled in Maryland and list the assets that pass through the estate, separately from assets held by the entirety, jointly or with a beneficiary designation.
2. Identify all descendants, including children from earlier relationships, and determine whether any child was under 18 at the date of death.
3. Determine the heirs who will take and whether each of them falls within the exempt circle for inheritance tax purposes.
4. Agree on the personal representative and obtain the consents needed to excuse bond, or arrange a surety.
5. Consider whether an heir should disclaim, taking into account that a disclaimed share passes as if the disclaiming heir had predeceased the decedent.
6. Where real estate is located outside Maryland, open the proceedings required in that jurisdiction and, for German real estate, apply for a German certificate of inheritance.

Conclusion

The 2023 rewrite placed the Maryland spouse in a stronger position than under the former law, but left two situations in which the statute divides the estate: minor children and descendants from another relationship. Both are common in practice, and in both the division has consequences for guardianship, administration and tax that a will can avoid.

How the firm helps

Ashford International Law PC advises Maryland families on estate plans and advises personal representatives and heirs on the administration of Maryland estates, including estates with heirs or assets outside the United States. The overview of statutory succession compares Maryland with the other jurisdictions in which the firm’s attorneys are licensed, and the article on dying without a last will and testament in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia compares the three neighboring statutes. Related material is available on the firm’s pages on estate settlements, non-US beneficiaries and estate planning for non-US citizens.

This page is intended for general educational purposes and does not constitute legal or tax advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship. The matters described depend on the specific facts, the countries and states concerned, and the law in effect at the relevant time. Statuses and figures are stated as of September 2026 and must be confirmed before any decision.