Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: Maryland’s tiered probate fee is $0 for estates under $50,000 and $200.00 for estates between $100,000 and $500,000, the range most homeowning estates fall into.
If a trust could save your estate this fee in Maryland
A living trust avoids probate entirely in Maryland, which means the estate skips the $0 above along with every other cost the court charges once a case is open. LawDepot builds a state-specific one.
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What Maryland charges to open probate
Maryland sets this fee on a statutory tier tied to the estate’s value, starting at $0 for estates under $50,000 and rising in steps as the estate gets larger.
| Estates under $50,000 | $0 |
| Estates $100,000 to $500,000 | $200.00 |
| Estates $1,000,000 to $2,500,000 | $2,000.00 |
Where this money goes and who sets it
The authority for this figure is Md. Code, Estates & Trusts § 2-206 (fees apply to estates opened on or after October 1, 2022). In the source’s own words: “No fees are due on Small Estates even if valued between $50,000 and $100,000 with a spouse as a sole heir or legatee.”
What this fee doesn’t cover
Because Maryland prices this by tier, the fee jumps at each threshold in the table above rather than climbing smoothly with the estate’s value. Either way, this is the court’s own charge just to open the file and issue letters, separate from what an attorney charges to actually handle the estate and separate from any state estate or inheritance tax the estate itself might owe.
Sources
Source: Md. Code, Estates & Trusts § 2-206 (fees apply to estates opened on or after October 1, 2022).