Maryland: Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements

Requirements one by one

Regular and modified administration take different routes

For a regular estate, Md. Code, Estates and Trusts § 7-201 requires the
personal representative to prepare and file the inventory within three months
after appointment. The filing goes to the register of wills.

An estate that elects modified administration follows a different route.
Section 5-704 requires a verified final report no later than 10 months after
appointment instead of a formal inventory and account. If any interested person
requests the formal inventory and account, the representative provides them to
all interested persons.

If modified administration is revoked after the regular deadline has passed,
§ 5-708 gives the representative 30 days from the register's notice of
revocation to file the late inventory or account.

Property and encumbrance detail

The regular inventory describes each item of property owned by the decedent at
death, states its fair market value as of death, and identifies the type and
amount of any encumbrance.

Section 7-201 lists real property, most tangible personal property, corporate
stocks, debts owed to the decedent, financial accounts and money, debts the
representative owed to the decedent, and other probate interests passing by
will or intestacy. Ordinary wearing apparel is excluded, but furs and jewelry
are not. Provisions for family consumption are also excluded.

Who may value each category

Section 7-202 lets the representative appraise exchange-traded or
over-the-counter corporate stocks, debts owed to the decedent, bank and similar
accounts, and money. The representative must secure an independent appraisal
for the other inventory categories.

The available methods are not identical for every asset. The representative
may use appraisers designated by the register. Real and leasehold property may
use the latest final property-tax cash value or a qualifying arm's-length
contract price with settlement within one year after death, subject to the
use-value exclusion. A vehicle may use the named used-car guide or a similar
guide designated by the register. A qualified, disinterested appraiser may help
with a fairly debatable value, and the inventory identifies that appraiser by
name and address next to the relevant items.

Signatures and appraisal verification

The statewide Form RW1122 requires each signing personal representative to
affirm under penalties of perjury that the inventory is true and that property
the representative was authorized to value was valued completely and correctly
under law. Form RW1123 supplies a separate perjury affirmation for an outside
appraiser, covering impartial performance to the best of the appraiser's skill
and judgment.

The forms do not add a notary block to either affirmation.

Later property, valuation errors, and review

Under § 7-203, the representative files a supplemental inventory or appraisal
when omitted property becomes known or an original value proves erroneous or
misleading. The supplement shows the death-date or revised market value and the
appraisals or other data relied on. The section states no separate filing
deadline.

Before the estate closes, the State or an interested person may petition under
§ 7-204 to revise an inventory value. Unless the representative filed the
petition, the court holds a hearing and may require the revision it considers
appropriate.

Modified administration has its own later-property rule: if property is found
after the final-report deadline, § 5-704 requires a report for that property
within 60 days after discovery and final distribution within 90 days.

Successor and noncompliance rules

Under § 7-205, a successor personal representative has three months after
appointment to return either a replacement inventory or written consent to be
answerable for the predecessor's listed items and values.

Failure without reasonable excuse to perform a material office duty is a ground
for removal under § 6-306. Removal requires a court finding and hearing, and the
court may retain the representative when the statute's best-interest and
rights-protection conditions are met.

What trips people up

Modified administration does not simply extend the regular inventory deadline.
It substitutes a verified final report and creates a request-based formal
inventory route. Revocation can then restore the court-filing duty.

An independent appraisal is not universal. The representative may directly
value the categories listed in § 7-202(a)(2), while other categories require an
independent appraisal or an authorized statutory valuation method.

The regular inventory is not the place for every asset associated with the
decedent. Section 7-201 reaches property owned at death and probate interests
passing by will or intestacy, with its express apparel and family-provision
exclusions.

Common questions

Must the personal representative sign before a notary?

The official inventory form uses a solemn affirmation under penalties of
perjury and contains no notary block.

Does every beneficiary automatically receive the regular inventory?

Sections 7-201 through 7-205 require filing but do not state a universal initial
service list. Under modified administration, however, a requested formal
inventory and account must be provided to all interested persons.

Can an interested person challenge a value?

Yes. At any time before closing, the State or an interested person may petition
the court under § 7-204 for revision of an assigned value.

Is later-discovered property handled the same in both tracks?

No. A regular estate uses the supplemental filing under § 7-203, which states
no separate deadline. Modified administration uses the 60-day later-property
report and 90-day distribution clocks in § 5-704.

Statutes and sources

• Md. Code, Estates and Trusts § 7-201 — regular inventory deadline,
  property scope, exclusions, values, and encumbrances:
  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get&section=7-201&enactments=False&archived=False
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Md. Code, Estates and Trusts § 7-202 — appraisal allocation, methods,
  appraisers, identification, and fees:
  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get&section=7-202&enactments=False&archived=False
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §§ 7-203 through 7-205 — supplements,
  revision petitions, and successor inventories:
  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get&section=7-203&enactments=False&archived=False,
  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get&section=7-204&enactments=False&archived=False,
  and https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get&section=7-205&enactments=False&archived=False
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Md. Code, Estates and Trusts §§ 5-704 and 5-708 — modified
  administration substitution, request rights, later property, revocation, and
  restored filing duty:
  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get&section=5-704&enactments=False&archived=False
  and https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get&section=5-708&enactments=False&archived=False
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Md. Code, Estates and Trusts § 2-206 — filing, recording, and copy-fee
  framework:
  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get&section=2-206&enactments=False&archived=False
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Md. Code, Estates and Trusts § 6-306 — removal for unexcused failure to
  perform a material duty and hearing procedure:
  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get&section=6-306&enactments=False&archived=False
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Maryland Register of Wills Forms RW1122 and RW1123 — representative and
  appraiser affirmations and official schedules:
  https://registers.maryland.gov/main/forms/RW1122and1123update.pdf (accessed
  2026-08-10).