Personal Representative
Complete Guide

The person named in the will has first priority. After that, priority runs to the surviving spouse, then children, and on down the line to creditors. Anyone with higher priority must sign a written consent before someone lower on the list is appointed.

Maryland bars several groups from serving: • Anyone under 18 • Anyone mentally incompetent • Anyone convicted of a serious crime, unless the court finds good cause • A non-citizen, unless the person is a U.S. permanent resident and is the spouse, parent or other ancestor, descendant, or sibling of the deceased

Yes. Maryland lets a non-resident serve if they appoint a Resident Agent who lives in Maryland. The Resident Agent’s only job is to accept legal papers on the estate’s behalf. Your attorney or a Maryland service fills that role. The real challenge for out-of-state executors is the house, not the paperwork.

Yes. Being named in a will does not force you to serve. You are able to decline before appointment, and a serving Personal Representative is able to resign through the court’s process. Declining early is far easier than resigning in the middle of an estate.

Yes. The Register of Wills describes the role as one held to the highest standard of care in the law, and a Personal Representative who falls short faces personal liability. The usual problems are predictable. Letting insurance lapse. Selling cheap to a relative. Paying heirs before creditors. Missing deadlines. Every one of those is avoidable.

Selling estate property to yourself or a family member is a conflict of interest and one of the fastest ways a Personal Representative gets sued. Expect the estate attorney to require court approval or written consent from every interested person. Get an independent appraisal and put the numbers in writing before anyone signs anything.

Only with court approval. Montgomery County’s Register of Wills policy says when a Personal Representative or attorney performs extra services like home repair or brokerage, payment beyond their commission or fee requires approval by the court, because the arrangement is a conflict of interest.

Maryland caps the combined total of Personal Representative commissions and attorney fees at 9% of the first $20,000 of the estate plus 3.6% of everything above $20,000. That is one shared cap, not two separate ones. Payment happens only after a court-approved petition or written consent from all interested persons.

The combined cap on a $500,000 estate is $19,080. • First $20,000 at 9%: $1,800 • Remaining $480,000 at 3.6%: $17,280 • Total: $19,080 That cap covers the Personal Representative’s commission and the attorney’s fee together. An attorney is able to petition the court for more with good cause.

The combined cap on a $300,000 estate is $11,880. • First $20,000 at 9%: $1,800 • Remaining $280,000 at 3.6%: $10,080 • Total: $11,880

Usually not as a separate expense. Montgomery County policy treats travel, food, and lodging as costs covered by the Personal Representative’s commission. Out-of-state executors should plan for this before booking flights back and forth.

Yes, and siblings do it often. The tradeoff is speed. Co-Personal Representatives generally sign listing agreements, contracts, and deeds together, so one slow or unreachable sibling holds up every step.

Interested persons are able to ask the Orphans’ Court to remove a Personal Representative who fails to perform, and the court is able to appoint a successor. Removal takes time and legal fees. A written timeline agreed on at the start prevents most of these fights.

A Special Administrator is a temporary appointment with limited powers, used to protect estate property before a regular Personal Representative is in place. It also happens when someone files a caveat against the will. At that point the existing Personal Representative’s role drops to Special Administrator until the court decides the will’s validity.

Yes. Maryland law presumes co-Personal Representatives carry out their duties jointly. Every signature, every decision, every contract. The Register of Wills itself warns that this leads to delays. If siblings want to share the role, agree in writing on who handles what before the estate opens.

A Personal Representative gives written notice of intent to resign to all interested persons at least 20 days before filing a statement of resignation with the Register of Wills. The resignation takes effect when a successor is appointed. The resigning Personal Representative must account for everything handled up to that point.

If the will names a successor Personal Representative, that person is able to serve. If it does not, priority passes to the next person under Maryland law, such as a spouse or child, and others with higher priority must consent.

The court removes a Personal Representative for: • Lying about material facts to get appointed • Willfully ignoring a court order • Being unable to do the job, with or without fault • Mismanaging estate property • Letting the Resident Agent designation lapse • Failing, without a good reason, to perform a material duty Once notice of a removal hearing is given, the Personal Representative holds only Special Administrator powers. That usually means the house sale stalls.