Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in Maryland, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means Maryland’s intestacy statute (Md. Code Ann., Est. & Trusts §3-102) decides who gets it, and the surviving spouse usually does not take everything. The single most common misunderstanding on this page: a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship can cut the spouse’s share sharply below what most people assume.
What this guide covers
Who inherits from Maryland residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: Md. Code Ann., Est. & Trusts §3-102 and the sections around it. It governs only the probate estate: what is left after retirement accounts and life insurance with a living named beneficiary, payable-on-death accounts, property in joint tenancy with survivorship, and anything already in a funded trust have already passed outside it. This page covers the spouse’s share, who inherits if there is no spouse, and the rules that can change the answer: half-blood relatives.
The spouse’s share
When the spouse takes everything: Spouse takes the ENTIRE intestate estate ‘subject to subsections (b) and (c)’; i.e. unless there is a surviving minor child, OR surviving issue (any age) not also issue of the surviving spouse. Maryland’s CURRENT statute does NOT mention surviving parents at all (a 2023 reform, Ch. 385, removed the older parent-cuts-in rule); an adult decedent survived by a spouse and a parent but no issue gives the spouse the entire estate.
When it is less than everything: (b) surviving MINOR child (any parentage): flat one-half. (c) no surviving minor child, but surviving issue (any age) not issue of the surviving spouse (blended family): ‘the first $100,000 plus one-half of the residue.’ If no minor child and all issue mutual: spouse takes the entire estate under (a).
(a) Subject to subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the share of a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner shall be the entire intestate estate. (b) If there is a surviving minor child, the share shall be one-half. (c) If there is no surviving minor child, but there is surviving issue who are not issue of the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, the share shall be the first $100,000 plus one-half of the residue.
Source: Md. Code Ann., Est. & Trusts §3-102
If a DIY will fits your situation in Maryland
In Maryland, a surviving spouse can end up sharing the estate with a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship under the default rules above; a will is what lets you decide that instead of the statute. LawDepot builds a state-specific last will and testament.
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Who inherits if there is no spouse
issue by representation -> parents equally, or surviving parent -> issue of parents (siblings/descendants) by representation -> grandparents: half each pair or survivor/issue by representation, whole half to other pair if one pair and its issue are gone -> stepchildren and issue of predeceased stepchildren, per capita/representation -> escheat (to the Dept. of Health if decedent received Medicaid LTC benefits, else to the local board of education).
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: No half-blood-reduction provision found anywhere in Title 3, Subtitle 1 (§§3-101 through 3-112, all read); by the statute’s silence, half-blood relatives take a full share equal to whole-blood.
What a will changes
A will does not just skip the statute above; it lets you choose who gets Maryland property that the intestacy rules would send somewhere else: a spouse who would otherwise share the estate with a stepchild, a partner who is not married and inherits nothing under intestacy at all, or specific people the statute’s ladder never reaches. It also lets you name an executor rather than leaving the court to appoint one. What it does not change: assets that already pass outside probate: a will has no effect on a beneficiary designation, a payable-on-death account, or property held in joint tenancy.
General information drawn from state intestate-succession statutes, not legal advice. Who inherits without a will is STATE law and differs in every state; the spouse’s share, the order of inheritance, and how half-blood and community-property rules apply all change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.