If you die without a will in Maryland, Maryland Estates and Trusts Section 3-102 decides who inherits your property, and your spouse's guaranteed share depends on whether your surviving children are minors, adults, or also your spouse's. This intestate succession process follows a fixed order set by state law. See the Maryland estate planning guide for your options.
A signed will replaces this formula with your own instructions. Here is exactly how Maryland divides an estate with no will.
Key Takeaways
- Maryland Estates and Trusts Section 3-102 gives your spouse the entire estate if you have no surviving descendants and no surviving parent.
- If you have a surviving minor child, your spouse's share drops to one-half, with the other half going to your children.
- If your surviving children are all adults and are not also descendants of your spouse, your spouse receives a set dollar amount off the top plus half of what remains, with your children taking the rest.
- With no surviving spouse or descendants, your estate passes to your parents, then to your siblings and their descendants.
Who Inherits Your Property in Maryland Without a Will?
Maryland's Maryland Estates and Trusts Section 3-102 sets your spouse's share based on whether you have descendants, whether any are minors, and whether they are also your spouse's descendants.
If You Have a Spouse and No Children
Your spouse inherits your entire estate when you have no surviving descendants and no surviving parent.
If You Have a Spouse and Children You Share Together
If you have a surviving minor child, your spouse receives one-half of the estate and your children divide the other half. If your shared children are all adults, Maryland law still directs a share to your spouse off the top before the balance splits with your children, the precise dollar threshold for this tier should be confirmed against the current statute since it is periodically updated by the Maryland legislature.
If You Have a Spouse and Children From Another Relationship
If you have a surviving minor child from another relationship, the same one-half split to your spouse applies. If your children from another relationship are all adults, your spouse receives a set dollar amount off the top plus half of the remaining balance, with your children dividing the rest.
If You Have Children and No Spouse
Your children inherit your entire estate in equal shares, with a deceased child's descendants taking that child's share by representation.
If You Have No Spouse and No Children
Your estate passes to your surviving parent or parents. If neither survives, it passes to your siblings and their descendants.
What Assets Skip Maryland Intestacy Entirely?
Not everything you own runs through Maryland's intestacy formula. Retirement accounts and life insurance policies with a named, living beneficiary pass directly to that person, regardless of what the intestacy statute says. Property you own jointly with a right of survivorship, and bank or brokerage accounts set up as payable-on-death or transfer-on-death, work the same way, passing straight to the surviving co-owner or named beneficiary outside of probate.
This matters because it means intestacy usually only decides what happens to the assets you never got around to titling or designating a beneficiary for, most often a primary residence, a car, or a checking account still in your name alone. For a lot of families, that leftover category still includes the family home, which is exactly why the distribution rules above matter as much as they do.
Worth checking now, before any of this becomes relevant: whether every account you hold actually lists a current beneficiary, and whether an old designation from a divorce or a relationship that ended years ago is still on file with the bank or insurance company. That single detail can override even a carefully written Maryland will, since a designated beneficiary is paid directly and never passes through the will at all.
What Does Dying Without a Will Actually Cost Your Family in Maryland?
The distinction between a minor child and an adult child is not just technical. It changes your spouse's guaranteed share, and Maryland's orphans' court still has to confirm each child's age and parentage status before anyone can be paid. That confirmation process, on top of valuing the estate, is what stretches Maryland probate out. See how long Maryland probate takes for the realistic timeline.
For blended families, a spouse who raised a decedent's minor child as their own but never legally adopted them can still see that child treated the same as any other minor descendant under this formula, which is rarely how the family actually saw its own structure.
How to Make Sure Your Wishes Control What Happens
A signed Maryland will replaces this age-based, relationship-based formula with your own instructions for your spouse and children. See write a valid will in Maryland for Maryland's execution requirements, and common Maryland will mistakes for the errors that most often get a homemade will challenged.
Our guide on 5 reasons not to die without a will covers the wider risks of leaving your estate to intestacy.
FastWill's will package helps you put a valid Maryland will in place naming your own beneficiaries, instead of relying on a fixed statutory formula.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my spouse automatically inherit everything in Maryland if I die without a will?
Only if you have no surviving descendants and no surviving parent. If you have a minor child, your spouse's share drops to one-half, and if you have adult children who are not your spouse's descendants, your spouse's share is further limited.
What happens to my house if I die without a will in Maryland?
Your house is part of your estate and divided under the same age-based and relationship-based formula as the rest of your property.
Do stepchildren inherit under Maryland intestacy law?
No, unless you legally adopted them. Only biological and legally adopted children count as descendants under Maryland intestacy law.
Can an unmarried partner inherit in Maryland without a will?
No. Maryland intestacy law does not recognize unmarried partners. A will or beneficiary designation is the only way to provide for a partner you are not legally married to.
How do I avoid Maryland's intestacy rules?
Sign a valid Maryland will or fund a living trust naming your own beneficiaries, so your own choices, not the age-based default, control your estate.
