Estate Administration – Step-by-Step Guide and Timeline

This article explains the general timeline for administering an estate in Maryland.

Timeline

1. Decedent dies

2. Locate Estate Planning Documents

If you find a will, Maryland law requires that you file it with the Register of Wills promptly after the decedent dies.
Even if there are no assets or you are not planning or ready to open the estate yet, you must still file the will. Read the Law: Md. Code, Estates and Trusts § 4-202
If under the will you are appointed the personal representative, you may proceed to petitioning the court to probate the estate.
If you find a will and someone else is named the personal representative, the will should be given to that individual to admit to probate.
If you cannot find a will, look to Maryland law on the Order of Rights of Letters. Read the Law: Md. Code, Estates and Trusts § 5-104

3. File Petition to Probate the Estate

There is no time limit to open an estate in Maryland, but once you do, the clock starts ticking.
Determine if you have a small or regular estate, as the forms and timelines differ for each.
- Small estate – the assets subject to administration are valued at $50,000 and under, unless spouse is sole heir, then $100,000.
- Regular estate – the assets subject to administration is over $50,000, unless spouse is sole heir, then in excess of $100,000. Read the Law: Md. Code, Estates and Trusts § 5-601
Appointment of personal representative
- Part of petitioning for probate is the appointment of a personal representative.
- A judge will either approve a personal representative named in the decedent’s will or appoint one if there is no will or the named personal representative does not want to serve.
- The court will then issue Letters of Administration to the personal representative giving them power to act on behalf of the estate. Read the Law: Md. Code, Estates and Trusts, Title 6, Subtitle 1

4. List of Interested Persons

Regular estate – within 20 days from appointment, the personal representative must file a List of Interested Persons with the Register of Wills.
Small estate – the List of Interested Persons must be filed along with the Petition to Probate a Small Estate
A List of Interested Persons is a document that lists the names and addresses of the decedent’s heirs, which includes the surviving spouse, children, and any other person who would inherit if there were no will. Read Maryland Intestacy Law to determine who is eligible.
If there is a will, the list should include the named personal representative and all legatees (i.e. people that inherit under the will).

5. File Inventory and Information Report

Inventory – within 3 months of the date of appointment, the personal representative must file a complete inventory of all of the decedent’s assets, including their date of death value, that they solely owned.
Information Report – within 3 months of appointment, the personal representative must file an Information Report, which includes all assets not solely in the decedent’s name or those that have a designated beneficiary.

6. File First Account

Regular estate – within 9 months from the date of appointment, or as early as 6 months, the personal representative must prepare and file the first account.
The first account should include a starting value of the estate and a report of all of the activity involving the estate’s assets
All receipts, including income, sales and redemptions, disbursements, distributions, and value of assets remaining in the hands of the Personal Representative must be reported

7. Claims Against the Estate

Creditors and interested persons may file claims against the estate within:

6 months from the date of the decedent’s death; or
2 months after the personal representative delivers a copy of the “Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors, Notice to Unknown Heirs” form.

8. File Subsequent Accounts

The personal representative may continue to file subsequent accounts within 6 months from the approval date of the prior account.
This is an ongoing record of any activity involving the estate’s assets.

9. File Final Account and Distribute the Estate

There is no time limit to file a final account, since every estate takes a different amount of time to administer.
Once the final account is approved, the estate’s assets may be distributed.

Source

Claire S. Calomeris, J.D., LL.M.