How Much Does Probate Cost
in Maryland?

Maryland probate costs come from five main sources: • Register of Wills probate fee, based on estate size • Personal Representative commission and attorney fees, capped together by statute • Probate bond premium, unless waived • Real estate commission and closing costs when the house sells • Holding costs while the house sits: taxes, insurance, utilities, and upkeep Holding costs are the one line item the family controls most directly. Use the Probate Cost Calculator on this site for a rough estimate.

The estate pays the probate attorney, not the Personal Representative personally. Maryland's combined cap on attorney fees and Personal Representative commissions applies unless the court approves more for good cause. Payment requires court approval or written consent from all interested persons.

Maryland places licensed real estate broker commissions in the same priority class as the Personal Representative's compensation and legal fees. That class is paid after Register fees, administration expenses, and funeral expenses, and before taxes owed by the deceased and most other claims.

A Personal Representative is able to pay up to $15,000 for funeral expenses. Paying more requires either a will that expressly allows it in a solvent estate or a court-approved Petition and Order for Funeral Expenses. In an insolvent estate, funeral costs are cut to the statutory maximum.

Maryland gives a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner a $10,000 family allowance and $5,000 for each unmarried child under 18. The allowance comes before most debts in the payment order.

When assets do not cover everything, Maryland pays claims in this order: • Register of Wills fees • Administration costs • Funeral expenses up to $15,000 • Personal Representative compensation, legal fees, and real estate broker commissions • Family allowance • Taxes owed by the deceased • Medical and nursing costs of the last illness • Up to three months of back rent • Wages owed for work in the last three months • Public assistance claims • All other claims Federal law gives debts owed to the United States, such as IRS taxes, top priority.

Generally no. Debts are paid from the estate's assets. Heirs are not personally liable for a parent's debts unless they co-signed them or agreed personally to repay them. If the estate runs out of money, lower-priority creditors go unpaid.

The estate pays them. Costs to maintain and preserve the house are ordinary estate expenses. The longer the house sits, the more those costs shrink every heir's share.

Yes. The Personal Representative opens an estate account using the estate's own tax ID number, and every dollar in and out runs through it, including sale proceeds. Mixing estate money with personal money is a fast way to lose the trust of the heirs and the court.