Most people around Baltimore don’t put off estate planning because they don’t care. They put it off because they assume it’s complicated, expensive, or something you handle “later” — after the promotion, after the kids are older, after retirement.

The problem is that Maryland law doesn’t wait. If you die or become incapacitated without a plan, the State of Maryland already has one written for you, and it’s rarely the plan you would have chosen.

Here are ten things every Maryland family should understand before making decisions about wills, trusts, and long-term care planning.

1. Maryland Is One of the Only States With Both an Estate Tax and an Inheritance Tax

This is the single most important thing separating Maryland estate planning from generic online advice.

Most states have neither tax. Maryland has both, and they work in completely different ways:

• The Maryland estate tax is based on the size of your estate. The exemption is $5 million per person and hasn’t moved since 2019 — it is not indexed for inflation. Rates on the taxable portion climb to a top rate of 16%.
• The Maryland inheritance tax is based on who receives your property, not how much you leave. It’s a flat 10% on the clear value of what a non-exempt beneficiary inherits, with no minimum threshold at all.

A Baltimore County family can be well under the federal estate tax exemption — currently $15 million per person — and still owe Maryland estate tax. Between rising home values in Perry Hall and White Marsh, retirement accounts, and life insurance, more households cross the $5 million line than expect to.

2. The 10% Inheritance Tax Catches People Who Never See It Coming

Close relatives are exempt from Maryland’s inheritance tax: spouses, children and stepchildren, grandchildren and other lineal descendants, parents and grandparents, siblings, and sons- and daughters-in-law.

Not exempt: nieces, nephews, cousins, close friends, and unmarried partners.

That surprises people constantly. An aunt in Parkville who leaves her home to a favorite niece has just handed that niece a 10% tax bill on the value of the house. The same bequest to a sibling passes tax-free.

If your plan benefits anyone outside that exempt list, raise it with your Maryland estate planning attorney early. There are ways to plan around it — but only before the fact.

3. Maryland Has No State Gift Tax

Maryland imposes no gift tax at the state level. That makes lifetime giving one of the most effective ways for higher-net-worth Maryland families to reduce exposure to the $5 million estate tax threshold.

The federal annual gift exclusion is $19,000 per recipient in 2026 ($38,000 for a married couple giving jointly), and gifts at that level don’t touch your federal lifetime exemption at all.

One caution: Maryland does reach certain deathbed gifts and transfers made within two years of death for inheritance tax purposes. Gifting works as a long-term strategy, not a last-minute one. The same is true of Medicaid planning, where a five-year lookback applies.

4. Without a Will, Maryland’s Intestacy Statute Writes One for You

Maryland overhauled its intestacy law effective October 1, 2023, and the changes matter — especially for blended families.

Under the current statute:

• A surviving spouse or registered domestic partner generally inherits the entire intestate estate.
• If there is a surviving minor child, the spouse’s share drops to one-half.
• If there are adult children who are not the children of the surviving spouse, the spouse receives the first $100,000 plus half the balance, and those children receive the rest.

That last scenario is the classic second-marriage problem: a surviving spouse ends up co-owning the house with adult stepchildren. A properly drafted will or trust avoids it entirely.

5. A Will Is Only One-Third of a Real Estate Plan

A complete Maryland estate plan almost always includes three core documents:

Last Will and Testament. Names your beneficiaries, appoints your personal representative, and — critically for parents — nominates a guardian for minor children.

Financial Power of Attorney. Lets someone you trust manage accounts, pay bills, and handle property if you can’t. Without one, your family may have to petition the court for guardianship of the property: slow, public, and expensive.

Advance Directive for Healthcare. Sometimes called a living will, this states your medical wishes and names a healthcare agent. Maryland has a statutory form, and every hospital in the region — Franklin Square, GBMC, St. Joseph, Johns Hopkins — will ask whether you have one.

The incapacity documents are the ones families actually use most. A will handles what happens after death; the other two handle everything before.

6. Trusts in Maryland: Revocable Living Trusts and Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts

Trusts get oversold online and underused where they genuinely help. Two are worth understanding.

A revocable living trust makes real sense if you:

• own real property in more than one state (a Maryland home plus an Ocean City or out-of-state property)
• have a blended family and want control over what happens after your spouse’s death
• have a child or grandchild with special needs who receives means-tested benefits
• want privacy — probate filings in Maryland are public records
• want your family to skip a probate process that commonly runs 9 to 18 months

Note that a revocable trust does not by itself reduce Maryland estate tax. It’s a control and probate tool.

A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) is a different instrument for a different risk: the cost of long-term care. Nursing home care in Maryland can run well over $10,000 a month, and Medicaid eligibility looks back five years at transfers. An irrevocable MAPT, funded early enough, can protect the family home and savings while preserving eligibility later. Timing is everything — this is planning you do in your sixties, not after the hospital calls.

7. Probate in Maryland Runs Through the Register of Wills, County by County

Every Maryland county and Baltimore City has its own Register of Wills office, and that’s where your estate gets administered. Towson for Baltimore County, downtown for Baltimore City, Bel Air for Harford, Ellicott City for Howard, Annapolis for Anne Arundel, Westminster for Carroll — each with its own staff, pace, and scheduling.

Maryland offers three tracks depending on the estate:

• Small estate — probate assets of $50,000 or less ($100,000 if the surviving spouse is the sole heir or legatee). Simplified paperwork, and no filing fee for estates opened on or after October 1, 2022.
• Modified administration — a streamlined option available when all residuary beneficiaries are exempt from inheritance tax.
• Regular administration — the standard track: inventory, published notice to creditors, a six-month creditor claim period, and a final accounting.

Disputes go before the Orphans’ Court in most jurisdictions, though Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Howard Counties route probate matters through the Circuit Court instead.

8. Your Beneficiary Designations Quietly Override Your Will

This is the most common and most expensive mistake we see.

Retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable-on-death bank accounts pass by beneficiary designation — not by your will. If your 401(k) still names an ex-spouse, that’s who receives it, no matter what your will says.

Signing documents is not the finish line. Titling assets correctly and coordinating every beneficiary form with the plan is what makes the plan actually work. Any firm that hands you a binder and waves goodbye has done half the job.

9. Maryland’s Estate Tax Portability Has a Hard Deadline

Married couples can shield up to $10 million from Maryland estate tax by using the deceased spouse’s unused exemption — but portability isn’t automatic.

The personal representative generally must file a Maryland estate tax return and make the election within nine months of the first spouse’s death, even when no tax is due. Miss it, and the surviving spouse’s estate may permanently lose several million dollars of exemption.

Maryland estate tax itself is also due nine months after death. Extensions exist for filing; they don’t extend the time to pay.

10. An Estate Plan Is a Living Document — Review It Every 3 to 5 Years

Set a calendar reminder for every three to five years, and revisit sooner after any of these:

• marriage, divorce, or remarriage
• birth or adoption of a child or grandchild
• a death in the family — especially a spouse or a named executor, trustee, or agent
• buying real estate or starting a business
• a move into or out of Maryland
• a significant change in net worth
• a diagnosis or a decline in health that puts long-term care on the horizon
• a change in Maryland or federal tax law

Laws move. Maryland rewrote its intestacy statute in 2023, and the federal exemption changed again in 2026. A plan built on assumptions that no longer hold is a plan that no longer protects anyone.

Frequently Asked Questions About Maryland Estate Planning

Do I need a Maryland-licensed attorney to write my will?

Your will has to be valid under the law of the state where you live. A Maryland attorney knows the execution requirements, the Register of Wills practice in your county, and Maryland’s dual tax system. Out-of-state forms and national online templates routinely miss all three.

How much does estate planning cost in Baltimore?

Far less than the alternative. A basic package of will, financial power of attorney, and advance directive is typically a flat fee. Trust-based plans and MAPTs cost more. Contested probate after no planning at all costs the most by a wide margin. Blackridge publishes its estate planning fees so you know before you call.

Is a handwritten will valid in Maryland?

Maryland recognizes holographic wills only in narrow circumstances, and they invite challenges. Don’t rely on one.

What if I own property in another state?

Out-of-state real estate generally triggers a separate ancillary probate in that state. This is one of the clearest cases for a revocable living trust.

Does a will avoid probate?

No. A will directs probate; it doesn’t avoid it. Trusts, joint titling, and beneficiary designations move assets outside the probate process.

When is it too late for a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust?

Not necessarily ever, but the five-year lookback means the earlier you fund one, the more it protects. Even mid-crisis, there are options — they’re just narrower.

Talk to a Baltimore Estate Planning Attorney

You don’t need to be wealthy to need an estate plan. You need one because you own a home in Perry Hall, or you have a two-year-old, or you’re caring for a parent in Parkville, or you simply want your family to know what you wanted.

At Blackridge Advisors, LLC, we help families across Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Harford, Howard, Anne Arundel, and Carroll County build estate plans that are clear, current, and built for Maryland law specifically — from simple wills to Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts.

Call 443-295-3202 for a free consultation.

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Blackridge Advisors, LLC
Baltimore Office
7939 Honeygo Blvd, Ste 116
Nottingham, MD 21236

Phone: 443-295-3202
Email: ddouglas@blackridgeadvisors.com
Web: blackridgeadvisors.com
Schedule: blackridgeadvisors.com/contact

Serving Baltimore City and Baltimore, Harford, Howard, Anne Arundel, and Carroll Counties — including Nottingham, White Marsh, Perry Hall, Parkville, Towson, Bel Air, and Ellicott City.

This article is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Tax figures are current as of publication and subject to legislative change.