Maryland Small Estate Affidavit

Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: Maryland lets a small estate be settled with a court petition for summary or simplified administration, usable not stated in the text we read, and it is filed with the court (or the office that holds probate authority). Real estate: yes.

The verdicts

What the statute actually says

SMALL ESTATE PETITION FOR ADMINISTRATION … Estate value of $50,000 or less. (If spouse is sole heir or legatee, $100,000.) Complete and attach Schedule B. … I solemnly affirm under the penalties of perjury that the contents of this document are true to the best of my knowledge, information and belief.

— Md. Code, Estates & Trusts §5-601 et seq.

The dollar limit

$50,000 — or $100,000 if the surviving spouse is the sole heir/legatee — small estate administration, Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §5-601 (value net of secured debts of record).

All 51 limits, compared.

The form

There is an official free form. Small Estate Petition for Administration (Form RW1103) with Schedule B (RW1137), Register of Wills — published by the state, free to download. You should not pay anyone for this form.

The waiting period is the part that voids transfers

Using the instrument before its waiting period has run is the most common way one of these fails. A bank can refuse it, and a transfer made on a defective affidavit can be unwound — with the person who signed it personally exposed, because these are sworn statements made under penalty of perjury. Wait the full period and count from the date of death.

What could not be verified

mdcourts.gov (both http and https) returned 403 on every path tried; verified instead via the Register of Wills’ official small-estate petition packet. The petition is signed under penalty of perjury (a solemn affirmation), not a traditional notarized affidavit — no notary block appears on the form. No explicit statutory waiting-period-after-death was located; the petition can apparently be filed promptly.

When this route is the wrong one

• The estate is over the limit. Full administration applies, and using the small-estate route anyway does not make it valid.
• There is real estate and this route does not reach it. A house needs the instrument that can actually transfer title.
• Someone disputes it. These procedures assume agreement; a contested estate belongs in front of a judge.
• Debts exceed assets. Paying the wrong creditor first can make you personally liable.

Related: how the process works, step by step · affidavit versus summary administration.

General information drawn from state statutes and official court materials, not legal advice. Probate and small-estate procedure is STATE law and differs in every state; thresholds, waiting periods and forms change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. Using the wrong instrument, or using one before its waiting period has run, can make a transfer ineffective and can expose the person who signs the affidavit to personal liability. We are not a law firm and we sell no forms.