Maryland Intestacy Laws: What Happens If You Die Without a Will

Dying without a will in Maryland means the state decides who inherits your assets. The distribution follows a rigid statutory order that doesn't account for your relationships, your intentions, or who actually needs the money.

About 67% of Americans don't have a will. In Maryland, that default can produce results most families wouldn't choose — including leaving an unmarried partner with nothing and potentially sending assets to the local Board of Education.

How Maryland Distributes an Intestate Estate

The distribution depends on which family members survive you:

If you have a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner and no children:

• Spouse or registered domestic partner inherits the entire estate

If you have a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner and a minor child:

• Spouse or registered domestic partner inherits half the estate
• Children split the other half equally

If you have a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner and only adult children:

• If all adult children are children of both the decedent and the spouse or registered domestic partner, the spouse or registered domestic partner inherits the entire estate
• If any adult child is not also the child of the spouse or registered domestic partner, the spouse or registered domestic partner inherits the first $100,000 plus half the remaining estate
• Adult children split the remainder equally

If you have no surviving spouse or registered domestic partner:

• Children inherit everything, split equally
• If no children: parents inherit everything
• If no parents: siblings inherit everything
• If no siblings or their descendants: grandparents and their descendants

If absolutely no blood relatives survive you:

• Stepchildren inherit (a relatively unusual provision among US states)
• If no stepchildren: the estate "escheats" to the Board of Education in the county where you lived

Who Gets Nothing Under Intestacy

Maryland's intestacy statute only recognizes legal and blood relationships. Several categories of people who might expect to inherit receive nothing:

Unregistered unmarried partners. Regardless of how long you've lived together or whether you own property jointly, an unregistered unmarried partner has zero inheritance rights under Maryland intestacy law. A registered domestic partner is treated like a spouse under current intestacy rules and is exempt from inheritance tax. If you name an unregistered partner in a non-probate transfer (like a life insurance beneficiary), the transfer is subject to the flat 10% Maryland inheritance tax because the partner is non-exempt.

Stepchildren (unless formally adopted). Stepchildren only inherit under intestacy as a last resort — after all blood relatives have been exhausted. Unless formally adopted, a stepchild you've raised for 20 years is behind a distant cousin you've never met.

Friends and charitable organizations. Without a will, there's no mechanism to direct assets to friends, godchildren, or causes you care about.

In-laws. A deceased child's spouse (your son-in-law or daughter-in-law) has no inheritance rights from your estate, even if they were your primary caregiver.

The Elective Share Complication

Even when there is a will, Maryland's elective share law can override it. A surviving spouse can elect to take a statutory share of the "augmented estate" — one-third if descendants survive, one-half if they don't.

The augmented estate includes probate assets plus revocable trusts, joint accounts, and transfers made without written spousal consent. This means you cannot effectively disinherit a spouse simply by moving assets into a trust or retitling them.

Under intestacy, the elective share is rarely relevant because the surviving spouse typically receives as much or more than the elective share amount. But in blended families where a will attempts to balance spousal support with children from a prior marriage, the elective share creates real friction.

The Inheritance Tax Layer

Maryland's intestacy distribution doesn't eliminate the inheritance tax. If assets pass to non-exempt heirs (which can happen when there's no surviving spouse, children, parents, or siblings), the recipients face a flat 10% inheritance tax on the clear value they receive.

Exempt recipients — spouses, registered domestic partners, children, parents, grandparents, great-grandchildren, siblings, stepchildren, and spouses of children — are fully exempt. So under most intestacy scenarios involving close family, no inheritance tax applies. But when estates pass to more distant relatives, the tax can be substantial.

Why Intestacy Is Especially Expensive in Maryland

Without a will, the estate almost certainly goes through regular probate administration. The Register of Wills assesses fees based on the gross estate value — $200 for estates between $100,000 and $500,000, $1,000 for estates between $500,000 and $1 million, $10,000 for estates from $7.5 million to under $10 million, and $10,000 plus 0.02% of the excess over $10 million for larger estates.

On top of that, combined personal representative and attorney fees are capped by statute at 9% of the first $20,000 plus 3.6% of everything above $20,000. On a $500,000 estate, that's up to $19,080 in administration costs.

A basic will costs a fraction of those fees and can direct assets to avoid probate entirely through beneficiary designations, joint tenancy arrangements, and TOD deeds once the Act takes effect on October 1, 2026.

The Maryland Estate Planning Kit includes an intestacy distribution chart showing exactly who would inherit your estate under current law, plus the documents needed to override that default — will templates, beneficiary audit worksheets, and a probate-avoidance checklist.

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