The below article is meant for informational purposes regarding the probate process in Maryland. Rockpoint Probate Funding DOES NOT provide funding services for estates based in Maryland.
When your loved one dies, you may expect to receive an inheritance. However, before you decide how to use the inherited assets, it’s important to understand that delays are possible — and, in some cases, inevitable. The Maryland probate court can require a lengthy process, especially if disputes arise.
Depending on the estate planning steps your loved one took before passing away, the estate may need to go to Maryland probate first. If the estate ends up in Maryland probate, you may have to wait a year or longer to receive the assets to which you are entitled. This can be frustrating, especially if you are counting on those assets to help with your current financial situation. This guide will walk you through some of the ins and outs of Maryland probate law.
Steps Required for Maryland Probate
Once a case enters the Maryland probate court system, it must follow a series of steps. The court cannot speed up the process by skipping steps for a typical probate case.
Maryland uses a specific type of county court, called the Orphans’ Court, to handle probate cases. This court manages and administers estates when someone dies with or without a will. After filing a case in the Orphans’ Court, the steps include:
- Naming a personal representative to represent the estate and follow through on every instruction.
- Posting a bond to protect the estate from errors the personal representative might make.
- Publishing a notice of death in the local newspaper for three weeks.
- Giving creditors up to six months from the notification to file claims against the estate.
- Taking inventory of the estate’s assets.
- Assigning an estimated value for each of the assets.
- Paying legitimate claims against the estate and any taxes, including Maryland’s estate and inheritance taxes.
- Creating an accounting for the court of all financial aspects of the estate, including debts paid and assets.
- Distributing the assets to the heirs.
Because managing the estate through the Orphans’ Court in Maryland involves so many steps, personal representatives receive a payment. The executor compensation in Maryland is 9% for the value of estates up to $20,000 and 3.6% of the value beyond $20,000, according to the Maryland Register of Wills.
How Long Does Maryland Probate Take?
Once a case enters the Maryland probate system, requiring a year or more for heirs to receive assets is not unusual. Maryland gives creditors six months from the date of notification of the death to file claims. This is longer than many states.
The process can take significantly longer than a year if cases run into complications. Such complications could include:
- Disputes among creditors about claims
- Disputes among heirs about the value or distribution of assets
- Questions about the legitimacy or clarity of the will
- Unclear records regarding assets or debts
- A large number of assets that are difficult to value
- Assets that become known after taking inventory
If you are waiting to receive your inherited assets from Maryland’s Orphans’ Court, any delays can cause financial strain. Rockpoint Probate Funding offers a solution. We provide cash advances for heirs waiting for the Maryland probate process. You can receive a portion of your inheritance now by using our cash advance.
Avoiding Maryland Probate
Perhaps the best way to avoid the lengthy probate process in Maryland is to make use of a revocable living trust. According to the Register of Wills in Maryland, assets held in a living trust do not go through probate.
Nearly all wills in Maryland must go through probate. However, any assets in the living trust are not subject to the will, meaning they skip probate. To use a living trust, your loved one must have set up the document before dying.
Small Estates
Through Maryland’s small estate affidavit, estates with probate assets worth $50,000 or less can use an expedited probate process. As long as the heirs agree about the distribution of the assets, this type of case moves through probate faster than a typical case.
You also can use the small estate process in Maryland if your estate’s probate value is less than $100,000 and the surviving spouse is the only heir.
You must provide documentation about the smaller value of the estate to the Register of Wills to qualify.
Going Through Probate Without a Will
If your loved one dies without a will, the probate court will apply the intestate succession law in Maryland to distribute the assets. This law determines who receives the assets and at what percentage. If certain types of heirs, like children or a spouse, are no longer surviving or do not exist for your loved one, other relatives may receive the assets.
Rockpoint Probate Funding Helps Heirs Waiting on Probate With Cash Advances
Maryland’s lengthy probate process often catches heirs off guard. After your loved one dies, you might expect to have access to your inherited assets relatively quickly. However, when the estate is in Maryland probate court, receiving the assets could take several months or longer.
Unfortunately, Rockpoint Probate Funding is unable to offer inheritance advances on probate cases in Maryland at this time. We can, however, fund probate cases for estates located in many other Eastern states.
We do not charge any hidden fees or place any restrictions on how you use the money. We ensure the terms of receiving the cash advance are completely clear when you receive it. You can sometimes get the money on the same day you apply.
For a free discussion about the pros and cons of receiving a cash advance from Rockpoint Probate Funding, contact us today at (888) 263-8588.
