Serves Montgomery and Howard counties from Rockville, with meeting locations in Columbia, Washington, D.C., Tysons Corner and Vienna. Handles estate and trust administration and probate and trust litigation, including will contests and breach of fiduciary duty. Practice is limited to estate law; a one-hour initial consultation is $500, applied to the engagement if retained.
Probate in Howard County
Probate Court Record
Howard County Register of Wills
Howard County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM
Office
Circuit Courthouse, 9250 Judicial Way, Suite 1100, Ellicott City, MD 21043
Website
Filing in person
Walk-ins accepted
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Howard County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Howard County? →Settling an estate in Howard County →
Trust Administration Firms Serving Howard County
Serves Prince George's, Howard, Montgomery and Anne Arundel counties from Main Street in Laurel. Handles Maryland probate and estate administration and helps successor trustees administer trusts, whether or not the firm drafted the trust, and assists trustees and beneficiaries in the probate court process. Tom Downs has limited his practice to estate planning, probate, trust administration and guardianship since 1995.
Serves Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford and Howard counties from an office in Canton. Guides executors and trustees through probate and estate and trust administration, including accountings, tax returns and distributions, and represents beneficiaries and fiduciaries in will and trust contests and breach of fiduciary duty disputes. The firm's roots date to 1939.
Serves Prince George's County and six neighboring counties from Upper Marlboro, beside the county courthouse, with a Kensington office by appointment. Handles probate and trust administration, and litigates will contests, trust disputes, breach of fiduciary duty and guardianship disputes. Has practiced in Prince George's County since 1976.
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.
All 10 Maryland trust administration firms serving Howard 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.
$12/month
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
Get Started
Free
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.
Get Started
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.
See the Steps
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.
Calculate the Fee
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.
See the Steps
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.
Get the Answer
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.
Calculate the Tax
