Estate Planning Attorney Upper Marlboro MD

$5M

Maryland's estate tax exemption, unchanged since 2019

9–12 mo

Typical Prince George's County probate timeline

3 States

Licensed to practice in MD, DC, and VA

Maryland law overview

Estate Planning in Upper Marlboro: What Prince George's County Families Need to Know

For many Prince George's County families, the family home is their largest and most valuable asset. A house purchased decades ago may now represent a substantial portion of a family's wealth. Estate planning is about protecting that investment and ensuring it passes according to your wishes. Without a plan, a home that took years to pay off may spend months in probate, creating unnecessary expense, delay, and uncertainty for those you leave behind.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed on July 4, 2025, permanently increased the federal estate tax exemption to $15 million per individual ($30 million for married couples), eliminating federal estate tax concerns for the vast majority of Maryland families. Maryland, however, did not adopt the same exemption. The state's estate tax exemption remains $5 million per individual with no inflation adjustment. Maryland also remains one of the few states that imposes both an estate tax, with graduated rates reaching up to 16%, and a separate 10% inheritance tax. Unlike the estate tax, the inheritance tax depends on who receives the property rather than the size of the estate. Transfers to spouses, children, parents, grandparents, and siblings are generally exempt, while distributions to nieces, nephews, unmarried partners, and many other beneficiaries may be subject to the tax.

Wills, Probate, and the Upper Marlboro Courthouse

Maryland does not recognize handwritten (holographic) wills. To be valid, a will must comply with the execution requirements set forth in Maryland law, including being signed by the person making the will and witnessed by at least two credible witnesses. Without a valid will, your estate is distributed according to Maryland's intestacy statutes rather than your personal wishes. The law decides who inherits your property, not you.

Probate for Prince George's County residents is administered through the Register of Wills and the Orphans' Court in Upper Marlboro. Many uncontested estates remain open for approximately nine to twelve months, although more complex matters can take considerably longer. Administrative fees are based on the value of the estate and are established by Maryland law.

A Probate Court Structure Unlike Most Maryland Counties

Prince George's County has a probate court structure that differs from many other Maryland jurisdictions. The county has a separately elected Orphans' Court composed of three judges who are required to be licensed Maryland attorneys. Unlike some counties, a single Orphans' Court judge may hear certain matters without requiring the full three-judge panel. That structure can affect scheduling, hearings, and contested probate proceedings, making familiarity with the local court system particularly valuable.

The Risk of a Generic Power of Attorney

A power of attorney matters just as much while you're alive as a will does after you're gone. It's the document that lets someone step in if illness or injury leaves you unable to manage your own affairs. A form pulled from a search engine often looks complete but isn't built for Maryland.

Under Maryland's power of attorney statute, an agent needs explicit authority spelled out before they can make gifts, manage a business interest, or change a beneficiary designation on your behalf. Skip that language and a bank can simply turn the document away, usually at the exact moment your family is counting on it to work.

A New Option for Prince George's County Homeowners

Beginning October 1, 2026, Maryland homeowners will have an important new estate planning tool. The Maryland Transfer-on-Death Deed Act (House Bill 738 / Senate Bill 651), signed into law on May 26, 2026, allows homeowners to designate a beneficiary directly on the deed to residential real property. The owner retains complete ownership and control during life and may revoke the designation at any time. Upon the owner's death, the property passes directly to the named beneficiary without going through probate.

A Transfer-on-Death Deed is not appropriate for every family and should not be viewed as a replacement for a comprehensive estate plan. However, for many Prince George's County homeowners, it may provide a simple and effective way to transfer a home while reducing probate costs and delays.

Estate Planning Is About More Than a Will

A will is a starting point, not the whole plan. Protecting your home, addressing tax exposure where it applies, preparing for incapacity, and making sure assets reach the people you've chosen all belong in the same conversation. Handle it now, and your family is spared the expense, delay, and guesswork that come from handling it later.

Services

What we handle for Upper Marlboro clients

Wills & Last Testaments

Maryland's witness and execution rules are strict, and generic templates routinely miss them. We draft wills that hold up, and we make sure your wishes are documented in a way the Prince George's County Orphans' Court will honor.

Learn About Wills

Revocable Living Trusts

A revocable trust keeps real property and other assets out of probate entirely. It is worth considering if you own a home, have business interests, or have beneficiaries whose circumstances are complicated. We tell you honestly whether it makes sense for your situation.

Explore Trust Planning

Powers of Attorney

Maryland law requires specific language before an agent can make gifts, manage a business interest, or change a beneficiary designation on your behalf. Templates pulled off the internet routinely leave it out. We draft financial and healthcare powers of attorney that include it, so a Prince George's County bank doesn't turn the document away.

Learn About Powers of Attorney

Estate & Probate Administration

For Prince George's County estates, everything runs through the Register of Wills in Upper Marlboro, with contested matters heard by the county's elected three-judge Orphans' Court. We handle the filings, the deadlines, and the hearings.

Explore Probate Services

Business Succession Planning

Your business plan should not end with your estate plan. We help Prince George's County owners structure succession so a company can continue or transfer without a probate delay or an unnecessary tax event.

Explore Business Succession

Fractional General Counsel

Not every business needs a full-time lawyer. We work with Prince George's County owners on an ongoing basis, handling contracts, compliance, and emerging issues before they become problems.

Learn About Fractional GC

Why Upper Marlboro clients choose C&O Law Group

Prince George's County court familiarity: We file with the Register of Wills at the Upper Marlboro courthouse and know how the county's elected Orphans' Court (a different structure than Montgomery County's) actually handles estate matters.
Licensed in MD, DC & Virginia: Licensed in Maryland, Washington D.C., and Virginia, the three-jurisdiction region many Prince George's County families live and work across.
Your attorney stays on your file: You deal with the attorney handling your file, not a revolving set of paralegals or intake staff.
Fixed pricing, no surprises: Standard estate plans are priced up front, in writing, before you engage us.
Notary comes to you: We'll travel to you for signing if that's easier.

Our attorneys are licensed in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia

Natalija Stamenkovic, based in our Rockville office, has practiced in the Maryland, D.C. and Virginia region for more than three decades, serving families throughout Prince George's County.

Natalija StamenkovicFounder & Managing Partner

Maryland-based attorney with more than 30 years of experience in estate planning, probate, elder law, and corporate counsel. Advises individuals, families, and businesses across MD, DC, and VA.

Meet Natalija

Frequently asked

Estate planning questions

If you own a home in Prince George's County, you have an estate worth protecting. And a house held in your name alone still has to pass through probate at the Upper Marlboro courthouse unless you plan around it. For many families the home is the whole estate, which is exactly why it deserves attention. Tools like a revocable living trust, proper joint titling, beneficiary designations, and the new Maryland Transfer-on-Death Deed (effective October 1, 2026) can move a home to your heirs without probate. Which one fits depends on your circumstances.

Both, in fact. Maryland is one of the few states layering an estate tax on top of a separate inheritance tax. The estate tax kicks in above $5 million per individual, at graduated rates topping out at 16%, and that threshold hasn't budged since 2019 despite rising home values. The inheritance tax runs separately: 10% on what passes to a beneficiary who isn't exempt. Spouses, children, parents, grandparents, and siblings are exempt; a niece, nephew, unmarried partner, or friend is not. For a lot of Prince George's County families, it's usually the inheritance tax, not the estate tax, that ends up mattering, and it's often something we can plan around.

Budget nine to twelve months for a straightforward estate, start to finish, through the Register of Wills in Upper Marlboro. Part of that timeline is fixed: the estate needs to stay open for roughly six months to let the creditor claim period run. If the matter is contested (a challenge to the will, say, or to the personal representative), it goes before the county's three-judge Orphans' Court, and that can stretch things out considerably. An attorney who regularly files in Upper Marlboro tends to sidestep the procedural delays that trip up out-of-county counsel.

It isn't. A will tells the court who should receive your assets, but anything titled in your name alone, whether that's a house or a standalone bank account, still has to go through the Upper Marlboro probate process regardless of what the will says. Keeping assets out of probate takes other tools: a revocable living trust, beneficiary designations, survivorship titling, or, starting October 1, 2026, a Maryland Transfer-on-Death Deed for real property. Most complete plans layer a will with one or more of these.

It's risky. Maryland requires specific statutory language before a power of attorney can authorize certain actions, and the generic templates you find online tend to leave that language out. When it's missing, a Maryland bank is within its rights to reject the document, leaving nobody able to step in for you right when it counts. We draft powers of attorney designed to be accepted at Maryland financial institutions.

Estate Planning Attorney Serving Upper Marlboro, MD and Prince George's County