Serves Howard and Montgomery counties from offices in Columbia and Bethesda, with a Washington, DC office by appointment. Guides personal representatives through Maryland estate administration and probate, from petitioning for appointment and notifying heirs to creditor claims, inventories, accountings and distributions, and advises trustees and beneficiaries on trust administration. Also handles adult guardianship, Medicaid and long-term care planning, and special-needs planning.
Probate in Frederick County
Probate Court Record
Frederick County Register of Wills
Frederick County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM (public office access until 4:00 PM)
Office
Courthouse, 100 West Patrick Street, Frederick, MD 21701
Website
Filing in person
Walk-ins accepted
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Frederick County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Frederick County? →Settling an estate in Frederick County →
Trust Administration Firms Serving Frederick County
Serves Anne Arundel County from Millersville and takes trust administration matters statewide. Helps families administer a loved one's estate through probate and assists trustees with trust administration, alongside adult guardianship and Medicaid crisis planning. Limits its practice to estate planning and elder law; partner Greg Jimeno wrote "How To Protect Your Home And Life Savings In Maryland."
Serves clients throughout Maryland from Potomac, with a second Maryland office in Baltimore. Its wills, trusts, estates and probate team handles probate court filings, estate administration and state and federal estate tax returns, and its attorneys serve as trustees and executors; a separate trusts and estates litigation group handles will and trust contests and breach of fiduciary duty claims.
Serves Maryland from offices in Annapolis and Towson. The firm administers estates and trusts, handles probate, and takes on estate and trust litigation, including will contests, caveat proceedings and fiduciary malfeasance claims.
Serves families across Maryland from Towson, with offices in Annapolis and Gaithersburg. Handles small and regular estates in the Orphans' Court, formal accountings for estates and trusts, estate and inheritance tax calculations and distributions for personal representatives and trustees, and offers Zoom meetings for out-of-state clients.
All 9 Maryland trust administration firms serving Frederick County →
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Maryland
Free Maryland forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for Maryland.
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Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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Pour-Over Will
In Maryland, a pour-over will is signed before 2Md. Est. & Trusts § 4-102Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.
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Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Maryland
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in Maryland: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool for Maryland.
How Do I Settle a Trust?
Settling a trust in Maryland happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's Uniform Trust CodeMd. Code Est. & Trusts § 14.5-101 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries within 90 daysET §§ 14.5-813, 14.5-904; CJP § 5-101Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.
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What's Fair Trustee Compensation?
In Maryland, trustee compensation follows "reasonable compensation" (UTC § 708 or equivalent)Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 14.5-708Verified Sep 18, 2026View source unless the trust instrument sets a different amount.
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How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in Maryland: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 90 daysET §§ 7-201, 7-202, 7-203Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 6 monthsMd. Code, Est. & Trusts §§ 7-103, 7-103.1, 8-103, 8-104, 8-105, 8-107Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.
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Do I Have to File Tax Returns for Someone Who Died?
Maryland requires a final state income tax return for the decedent alongside the federal Form 1040Md. Tax-Gen. §§ 10-105, 10-217; Ch. 604 (2025 Acts) (HB 352)Verified Sep 20, 2026View source; a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only for estates above $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?
Inherited assets in Maryland take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death26 USC § 1014Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the gain on a later sale faces ordinary income tax at the state's regular rates, plus a 2% surtax on the whole gain once federal AGI exceeds $350,000Md. Code, Tax-General § 10-105(a) (graduated rates; (a)(3)-(4) 2% net-capital-gain surtax); § 10-101(e), (g) (definitions of "federal adjusted gross income" and "individual"); § 10-102 (imposition)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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