Trustee Notice to Beneficiaries Requirements in Maryland

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Maryland separates a 60-day clock from a 90-day clock

Estates and Trusts § 14.5-813(b)(1)(i) gives the trustee 60 days after accepting the trusteeship to notify qualified beneficiaries of the acceptance and the trustee's name, address, and telephone number.

Subsection (b)(1)(ii) gives 90 days after the trustee acquires knowledge that an irrevocable trust was created or that a formerly revocable trust became irrevocable, whether by the settlor's death or otherwise. That notice states the trust's existence, identifies the settlor or settlors, and explains rights to request the trust instrument and a trustee's report.

The mandatory floor begins at age 25

Section 14.5-105 generally lets the trust terms prevail. Its mandatory list protects notice to qualified beneficiaries of an irrevocable trust who are at least 25. The protected information is the trust's existence, trustee identity, and rights to request reports and a copy of the trust, together with request-response duties.

The broader § 14.5-813 notices remain the statutory default for qualified beneficiaries, but the trust terms can vary that broader duty below the mandatory floor. A trustee therefore must read the trust and both sections together.

Maryland uses receipt-focused delivery and publication

For a known qualified beneficiary, the trustee may deliver personally or use one of § 14.5-109(a)(3)(ii)'s methods: personal service; certified or first-class mail with postage prepaid and return receipt requested; prepaid courier with delivery confirmation; or, after written agreement, ordinary first-class mail, confirmed fax, or email with acknowledgment requested.

If the beneficiary's name, location, or delivery address is unknown, § 14.5-813(b)(2) requires publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where trust property is located once a week for three successive weeks.

Reports are request-based

The irrevocability notice states a right to a trustee's report. Under subsection (c), a qualified beneficiary who requests a report receives it annually and at trust termination. The report covers property, liabilities, receipts, disbursements, trustee compensation, an asset list, and feasible market values.

That does not make every qualified beneficiary an automatic annual report recipient.

What trips people up

• The clocks and contents differ. The acceptance notice identifies the trustee; the knowledge-based notice identifies the trust and settlor and states request rights.
• Age 25 is a mandatory floor, not the whole default recipient definition. The statute still states broader qualified-beneficiary notices unless the trust varies them.
• Ordinary email is not enough. Written agreement and acknowledgment-request conditions apply to the alternative email route.
• Unknown recipients require publication. Maryland does not merely excuse the notice when the statutory publication trigger applies.
• No sworn execution package is stated. The statutes do not require trustee perjury language, signature, notarization, service affidavit, or proof certificate.

Common questions

Who counts as a qualified beneficiary?

Section 14.5-103(u) uses current, next-line, and termination distribution horizons, with the termination test assuming no power of appointment is exercised. It excludes an appointee under a living person's will and an object of an unexercised inter vivos power of appointment.

Does another beneficiary who requested notice receive it?

Yes. Section 14.5-110(a) adds another beneficiary who sent the trustee a request for notice whenever the title requires notice to qualified beneficiaries.

Who receives duties while the trust is revocable?

Under § 14.5-603(a), beneficiary rights are generally subject to the settlor's control and trustee duties are owed exclusively to the settlor. Subsection (b) gives a lifetime distributee enforcement rights when the settlor lacks capacity to revoke.

How does a trustee accept?

Under § 14.5-701(a), the trustee follows the trust's acceptance method. If none is stated or the method is not exclusive, delivery of trust property, exercising powers or duties, or another indication can establish acceptance.

May a recipient waive notice?

Yes, but § 14.5-109(c) requires the notice or document waiver to be in writing. Section 14.5-813(d) separately permits a qualified beneficiary to waive reports or other information and withdraw prospectively.

Which older trusts or trusteeships are excluded?

The initial-notice subsection does not apply when the trustee accepted before January 1, 2015, the irrevocable trust was created before that date, or the revocable trust became irrevocable before that date.

Statutes and sources

• Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 14.5-103(u) — qualified-beneficiary definition and exclusions. Official Maryland Code (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 14.5-105(10)-(11) — mandatory age-25 notice and information floor. Official Maryland Code (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 14.5-109(a)-(d) — receipt-focused delivery, alternative-method agreement, failed delivery, and written waiver. Official Maryland Code (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 14.5-110(a)-(d) — requested additional notice and special qualified-beneficiary rights. Official Maryland Code (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §§ 14.5-603 and 14.5-701 — revocable-settlor control and trustee acceptance. Official Maryland Code (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 14.5-813(a)-(e) — notices, deadlines, contents, delivery, publication, requested reports, waiver, and legacy line. Official Maryland Code (accessed 2026-07-31).