Maryland Probate Fees: What the Estate Actually Pays

Probate is not what makes settling a Maryland estate expensive. The court's share is close to nothing.

Maryland probate fees run on a schedule set by statute, and since October 1, 2022 the Register of Wills, the county office that handles estates, has charged nothing at all on a probate estate under $50,000. From $100,000 to just under $500,000 the fee is a flat $200. Cross $500,000 and it becomes $1,000. Those figures are published on the Register of Wills fee schedule and written into the Maryland Estates and Trusts Article at section 2-206.

I have spent more than 25 years at kitchen tables with Maryland families sorting out a house after a parent died. Most arrive convinced probate will swallow what was left to them. It usually does not. Something else does, and if you are working through what happens to an inherited house in Maryland, that is the part to watch.

None of this is a pitch. Many of the homeowners we sit down with never sell to us, and the conversation is free either way.

The Short Version

• Maryland probate fees are tiered: a probate estate under $50,000 pays nothing, and from $100,000 to just under $500,000 the fee is a flat $200.

• Testimony filed with the Maryland General Assembly in March 2022 by the Register of Wills for Howard County put 64 percent of all Maryland probate estates under $50,000, and those estates now pay no probate fee at all.

• Maryland Estates and Trusts section 2-206(b)(5)(i) has the register assess the fee when the first administration account is filed, nine months after appointment in a regular estate.

• The personal representative, meaning the person the court appoints to run the estate, may take a commission capped at 9 percent of the first $20,000 plus 3.6 percent of the excess, and section 7-601(a)(3) allows that right to be given up.

• On a Baltimore County estate holding a $450,000 house sold ten months after the death, the Register of Wills fee is $200 while holding and selling the house runs roughly $47,300.

What Maryland Probate Fees Actually Cost

The Register of Wills charges one probate fee, set by tier. For estates opened on or after October 1, 2022, the published schedule matches Estates and Trusts section 2-206(b)(2).

Probate estate value	Register of Wills probate fee
Under $50,000	$0
$50,000 to under $100,000	$100
$100,000 to under $500,000	$200
$500,000 to under $1,000,000	$1,000
$1,000,000 to under $2,500,000	$2,000
$2,500,000 to under $5,000,000	$5,000

In an uncontested estate, that single fee is not charged per filing. Section 2-206(b)(1) covers probating the will, granting Letters of Administration (the court document that gives you authority to act for the estate), entering the estate on the docket, and recording the inventories, accounts and orders. No separate charge to open. No accounting fee. The Register of Wills does note that additional fees apply in contested estates.

It also helps to know what counts toward that value in the first place. Sponsor testimony on House Bill 187 in 2022 explained that probate assets are only the ones titled in the decedent's sole name. A house held jointly with a spouse, a joint bank account, or a life insurance policy with a named beneficiary is not part of the probate estate at all.

Small estates pay nothing. Maryland treats an estate as a small estate when the probate assets, valued net of debts secured by the property, come to $50,000 or less, or $100,000 or less when the surviving spouse is the only heir or legatee. Which track an estate falls into is one of the questions we hear most.

The reason so few families ever see a real court bill is sitting in the legislative record. Testifying on House Bill 187 in 2022, Byron Macfarlane, the Register of Wills for Howard County, said estates under $50,000 make up 64 percent of Maryland probate estates and produced under 1 percent of statewide Register of Wills revenue. In more than 25 years I have never once had a family tell me the Register of Wills fee was the thing that hurt them.

Not sure which track your parent's estate falls into? That is a short conversation. Tell us what you are dealing with and we will tell you what we see. Free, and you are never required to sell.

When do you pay the Maryland probate fee?

Not at the counter on day one. Under Maryland Estates and Trusts section 2-206(b)(5)(i), the register assesses and collects the probate fee when the first administration account is filed, which in a regular estate is due nine months after appointment. A newly appointed personal representative bracing for a bill has not been charged one yet.

The inventory, meaning the list of estate assets and their date-of-death values, is due earlier, at three months. Under section 2-206(b)(3), the value the fee runs on is built from the filed inventories plus what comes into the estate and any gain realized on selling an asset, less any loss.

The Executor's Commission Is a Ceiling, Not a Bill

Maryland Estates and Trusts section 7-601(b)(2) caps the personal representative's commission at 9 percent of the first $20,000 of property subject to administration plus 3.6 percent of the rest. On a $480,000 estate that is $18,360.

Read the word cap carefully. It is a maximum the Orphans' Court, which is Maryland's probate court, may allow. It is not an invoice that arrives. Section 7-601(a)(3) lets the personal representative give up all or part of it at any time, and the adult child in the role usually does. Maryland practitioner commentary gives the common reason: a commission is taxable income to whoever takes it, while an inheritance generally is not. That is a question for a CPA, not for me.

Does the attorney get a separate percentage in Maryland?

No. Maryland has no statutory attorney fee percentage for probate. Section 7-602 entitles an attorney to reasonable compensation, and section 7-602(c) requires the Orphans' Court to weigh the counsel fee and the commission together and cap the total. It is one shared ceiling, not two.

The Maryland Bar Journal practitioner guide on probate fees, published in the fall of 2025, describes a benefit-to-the-estate requirement in section 7-602: the estate should not pay counsel, on top of the personal representative, for routine executor work such as opening a bank account or corresponding with creditors. The concern is an estate paying twice for one task. Maryland publishes no attorney fee schedule, and industry publications put flat fees for a straightforward uncontested estate in the range of $2,000 to $8,000.

I am not a lawyer, and none of this is legal advice. This is the point where an attorney earns their fee. We can connect you with someone who handles probate in your county, and the introduction costs you nothing.

The House Is What Costs Money

Here is a worked Maryland example, and it is why I keep telling people the courthouse is not their problem. A Baltimore County estate: a $450,000 house on the date of death, a $30,000 bank account, no mortgage, an attorney on a flat fee, a waived commission, and a sale settling ten months later.

Cost category	Amount	Share of total
Register of Wills and court fees	about $214	0.4%
Bond, newspaper notice, death certificates	about $350	0.7%
Personal representative commission (waived here)	$0	0%
Attorney fee, flat, uncontested	$5,500	10.3%
Everything to do with the house	about $47,325	88.6%
Total	about $53,389	100%

The costs attached to the house came to roughly 221 times the Register of Wills fee. Holding that Baltimore County house runs about $1,280 a month, mostly property tax, insurance on a vacant dwelling, utilities, and upkeep.

Rates move a lot by county. The State Department of Assessments and Taxation table published in July 2026 puts the Prince George's County rate at $1.0000 per $100 of assessed value, with the state adding $0.1120 on top of that.

A woman called me last fall about her father's split level in Fort Washington. He had died over the winter and the house had been shut up since. She had it in her head that she could not touch anything until probate finished. Nobody told her that. She had assumed it, the way nearly everyone does.

We sat at his kitchen table and I asked her for two things: the property tax bill and the declarations page from the homeowners policy. The tax bill she had. The insurance took some digging.

When she found the policy we read the vacancy language out loud. That was the real exposure, and it had nothing to do with the Register of Wills. A standard homeowners policy generally suspends or excludes key coverages once a dwelling has sat vacant for a defined period, commonly thirty to sixty consecutive days, according to insurance industry guidance. She got the estate moving and the house sold that spring.

You do not have to work this out alone. The consultation is free and every option gets explained, including the ones that do not involve us. If selling is one path you are weighing, we will tell you honestly how it compares to keeping the house or handing it to an heir.

What Actually Changes the Cost of Probate in Maryland

Can selling the house for more than its inventory value raise the probate fee?

Yes. Maryland Estates and Trusts section 2-206(b)(3) builds the fee base from the filed inventories, plus all principal and income receipts, plus any increases realized on the disposition of a probate asset. A gain on the sale counts toward the value.

The schedule jumps in steps rather than climbing by percentage, so a modest gain can cross a line. An inventory of $480,000 sits in the $200 tier. Sell that house for $475,000 and the $25,000 gain brings the reported value to $505,000, which lands in the next tier, so the fee goes from $200 to $1,000. The estate is $25,000 richer. I would take that trade every time.

Personal representatives who live out of state get a different surprise. Per a Comptroller of Maryland tax alert, nonresident sales of Maryland real property after June 30, 2025 carry withholding at settlement of 8.75 percent for individuals, estates, and trusts, and the deed cannot be recorded without a withholding payment. That money is held back at the table rather than lost, but it is far better known in advance than discovered at closing.

The last one is time. Every extra month that Baltimore County house sits adds roughly $1,280. It runs the other way too: distributing the house in kind, meaning handing the house itself to an heir rather than selling it and splitting the cash, drops that same estate from roughly $53,400 to roughly $13,700 when the heir moves in at month four, because the cost of the sale disappears. None of that is a reason to rush a decision. It is a reason to know the number before you make one.

So Where Does That Leave You

If someone tells you probate is going to eat your mother's estate, ask which number they mean. The court's number is small, published, capped, and not assessed until nine months in. The commission is a ceiling you may decline. The house is the expensive part, and it is where your decisions still count. An entire industry runs on making people in your spot feel the estate is bleeding out, because frightened people accept less than they should.

If any of that sounds like where you are, you already know you need to talk to somebody who has done this before. That is what we do, and it costs nothing to find out where you stand. Reach out whenever you are ready. Or start with what selling an inherited Maryland house actually involves.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does probate cost in Maryland?

The Maryland Register of Wills charges a tiered probate fee: nothing on an estate under $50,000, $100 from $50,000 to just under $100,000, $200 from $100,000 to just under $500,000, and $1,000 from $500,000 to just under $1,000,000. Attorney fees, the personal representative's commission, and the cost of holding and selling a house are separate, and in a house-centered estate they are far larger.

Do you pay Maryland probate fees when you open the estate?

No. Under Maryland Estates and Trusts section 2-206(b)(5)(i), the Register of Wills assesses and collects the probate fee when the first administration account is filed. In a regular Maryland estate, that account is due nine months after appointment. If the estate proceeds under modified administration, a streamlined track, section 2-206(b)(4)(ii) places the assessment at the filing of the final report.

Does the executor have to take a commission in Maryland?

No. Maryland Estates and Trusts section 7-601(b)(2) sets a maximum commission of 9 percent of the first $20,000 of property subject to administration plus 3.6 percent of the excess. Section 7-601(a)(3) allows the personal representative to give up all or part of that right at any time. Commissions are not available in a Maryland small estate administration.

Can Maryland probate fees be waived?

Yes, in defined circumstances. Maryland Estates and Trusts section 2-206(a)(4) requires the register to waive the fees when the decedent's Maryland real property is being transferred to an heir who resides on the property, or the property is under a tax sale lien, and the estate cannot pay by reason of poverty as section 2-206(a)(1) defines it.

What is the biggest cost of settling a Maryland estate that includes a house?

The property itself. In a worked Baltimore County example with a $450,000 house sold ten months after the death, the costs tied to the house came to roughly $47,300 out of an approximately $53,400 total, while the Register of Wills fee was $200. Each additional month of holding added about $1,280.