Updated September 3, 2026. Quick answer: in Maryland, an estate can use small estate administration when the qualifying value is $50,000 or less. Whether real property passes that way is not settled in the official text we could read this session; treat that as an open question, not a yes.
What this guide covers
Whether probate is required in Maryland turns on two questions: does the estate qualify for a small-estate shortcut, and does that shortcut reach whatever real property is involved. This page answers both for Maryland, with the statute cited, and then covers what full probate costs if the shortcut does not apply.
The affidavit route, and its limit
Maryland’s route: small estate administration, under Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 5-601.
$50,000, or $100,000 where the surviving spouse is the sole legatee or heir.
If the property of the decedent subject to administration in Maryland is established to have a value of $50,000 or less as of the date of the death of the decedent, the estate may be administered in accordance with the provisions of §§ 5-602 through 5-607 of this subtitle.
(Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 5-601)
The real-estate problem
What could not be verified: S 5-601 states the value test over “property subject to administration” without distinguishing real from personal. We are not printing a yes-or-no here because we do not have the text to support one; check with Maryland’s probate court or a local attorney before relying on the small-estate route for real property.
If a trust fits your situation in Maryland
In Maryland the statute does not clearly settle whether the small-estate route reaches real property, which is itself a reason not to lean on it for a house; a funded revocable living trust removes the ambiguity, and LawDepot builds a state-specific one.
Build a living trust at LawDepot
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What probate costs in Maryland if it is required
Maryland’s probate fees and attorney-compensation rules are their own topic, worked through in full on Maryland probate cost.
The order to work through it
List what Maryland residents typically own and how each item is titled. Remove everything with a living named beneficiary, a surviving joint owner, or a trust already holding it. If what remains is $50,000 or less, small estate administration is the route to look at. If real property remains in sole name, confirm the real-property rule above applies to what you own.
The general rule: when probate is required. Thresholds elsewhere: small estate limits by state. Maryland’s own small-estate mechanics: Maryland small estate affidavit.
Statutory text read at Maryland’s own legislature or official code publisher. General information, not legal advice; fee statutes and thresholds change and a court retains the final say on what qualifies.
General information drawn from state statutes and official court materials, not legal advice. Whether probate is required is STATE law and differs in every state; thresholds, what the small-estate route reaches, and probate costs all change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.