Sell Inherited Property in Maryland

• Maryland is the only state with both an estate tax and a separate inheritance tax. Both can apply to the same estate, though most heirs face at most one, and close family is exempt from the inheritance tax.
• A surviving spouse does not automatically inherit everything without a will. The spouse or registered domestic partner takes the entire intestate estate when all descendants are also theirs, but only the first $100,000 plus half the rest when the decedent left adult descendants from outside the marriage (Md. Code, Estates and Trusts 3-102). Outdated guides still cite $15,000 or $40,000.
• The inheritance tax is a flat 10 percent, settled before you receive the property. The person distributing the property is responsible for paying it, so it usually comes out of the estate before distribution, but who bears the cost can vary with the will and the type of transfer.
• A new Maryland transfer-on-death deed takes effect October 1, 2026. It lets an owner pass real estate to a named beneficiary outside probate, but it does not avoid the inheritance tax.
• Modified administration is Maryland’s overlooked middle path. Between a small estate and full probate, it lets close-family estates skip the formal inventory and accounting and finish within about a year.

Selling inherited property in Maryland depends on how title was held, whether probate is required, who the heirs are, and whether Maryland-specific issues like tenancy by the entireties, the elective share, the two state death taxes, or Medicaid estate recovery affect the sale.

Whether inherited property in Maryland requires probate depends almost entirely on how title was held. Property that passed by survivorship, a living trust, or a recorded transfer-on-death deed transfers outside probate. Property the decedent owned alone, or a share held as tenants in common, generally has to clear an estate before it can be sold.

• Tenancy by the entireties (married couples): No probate. The surviving spouse owns the whole property automatically on the first death.
• Joint tenancy with right of survivorship: No probate for the survivorship interest. The property passes to the surviving joint owner.
• Tenancy in common: Probate. The deceased owner’s fractional share passes by will or intestacy.
• Sole ownership: Probate. The property passes by will or intestacy and needs a small estate, modified, or regular administration to clear title.
• Living trust: No probate. The trustee distributes or sells under the trust terms.
• Transfer-on-Death Deed (for deaths on or after October 1, 2026): No probate. The property passes to the named beneficiary.
• Life estate deed with retained powers: Sometimes, for the remainder interest. May avoid probate if validly drafted and insurable, but the deed terms and the title company’s review control.

Tenancy by the entireties is not the same as ordinary joint tenancy, and it is the single biggest reason many Maryland married-couple homes never see probate. More on how each title type works in the sections below.

Maryland is a common-law, separate-property state, not a community property state, so each spouse owns what is titled in their name rather than an automatic half of everything acquired during the marriage. Its inherited-property rules are shaped by four things in particular: tenancy by the entireties for married couples, a state estate tax, a separate state inheritance tax, and the absence of a Florida- or Texas-style probate homestead right that would automatically give a surviving spouse a protected lifetime right to occupy the inherited residence. Each of these is covered below.

What Makes Maryland Different for Inherited Property?

Maryland has three features that distinguish it from most other states for inherited real estate: two separate state death taxes, a married-couple ownership form that quietly avoids probate, and a brand new transfer-on-death deed that takes effect in late 2026.

Why Does Maryland Have Both an Estate Tax and an Inheritance Tax?

Maryland is the only state that charges both. The estate tax applies to large estates above a state exemption and is based on the size of the estate. The separate inheritance tax is based on who inherits, not how big the estate is, and most close family is exempt. The two are coordinated so the same dollars are not taxed twice: any Maryland inheritance tax the estate pays is credited against the Maryland estate tax. The full mechanics, including who is exempt, are in the tax section below.

How Does Tenancy by the Entireties Affect Inherited Maryland Property?

When a married couple takes title to Maryland real estate together, the law presumes they hold it as tenants by the entireties unless the deed clearly says otherwise. On the first spouse’s death, the survivor owns the whole property automatically, with no probate, and the home is shielded from a creditor of just one spouse because a creditor generally needs a claim against both spouses to reach entireties property. Tenancy by the entireties is available only to a married couple, which is the detail most general guides miss when they treat it as ordinary joint tenancy. It is the quiet mechanism behind many Maryland married-couple homes passing outside probate.

When Does Maryland’s New Transfer-on-Death Deed Take Effect?

October 1, 2026. Maryland has enacted a transfer-on-death deed for real estate for the first time, codified at Real Property Article, Title 14, Subtitle 10. It lets an owner name a beneficiary who takes the property automatically at death, outside probate, while the owner keeps full control and the right to revoke during life. It applies to deeds recorded before the effective date as long as the owner dies on or after October 1, 2026. You can read the enacted law on the Maryland General Assembly page for House Bill 738. The deed has real limits: it must be signed, notarized, and recorded correctly; it does nothing if the owner dies before October 1, 2026; it does not avoid the inheritance tax; it does not erase a mortgage, lien, or other title problem; and the beneficiary still has to perfect and insure title after death before selling.

How a Maryland property was titled determines whether it passes through probate and who has authority to sign the deed when it is sold. Maryland recognizes several ownership forms, and the one that matters most for married couples, tenancy by the entireties, passes the whole property to the survivor automatically. Maryland also abolished the old common-law estates of dower and curtesy (Estates and Trusts 3-202); the protection that replaced them for a surviving spouse is the elective share, covered below.

An ordinary life estate created by deed ends automatically when the life tenant dies. Maryland recognizes a life estate deed that retains powers, which some people informally call a Lady Bird or enhanced life estate deed, but only a minority of states use deeds of this type and their effect depends on careful drafting and title-company acceptance. For deaths on or after October 1, 2026, the new statutory transfer-on-death deed is generally the cleaner tool. For property held in trust, see our guide to selling a house held in a trust after death.

Maryland Intestate Succession Rules

When someone dies without a will in Maryland, the surviving spouse’s share depends on who else survives the decedent, and it is smaller than most people expect when there are children from outside the marriage. If the decedent left no descendants at all, the spouse inherits the entire estate, even if the decedent’s parents are still living. If the decedent left a minor child, the spouse takes half. If the decedent left adult descendants who are not also the surviving spouse’s children, the spouse takes the first $100,000 plus half of the rest (Estates and Trusts 3-102).

Several Maryland-specific rules sit on top of that formula. Registered domestic partners inherit like spouses without a will (Estates and Trusts 3-102), though they are not entitled to the elective share described below. The rest of the estate passes by degree of kinship: descendants first, then parents, then siblings and their issue, then grandparents, then more remote relatives (Estates and Trusts 3-101), with descendants taking per stirpes (Estates and Trusts 3-103). An heir must survive the decedent by 30 days to inherit (Estates and Trusts 3-110). Maryland’s slayer rule bars anyone who feloniously and intentionally killed the decedent, and can apply even without a criminal conviction (Estates and Trusts 3-111). If no relative can be found, the estate passes to the county Board of Education for the public schools, unless the decedent received Maryland Medicaid long-term-care benefits, in which case it goes to the Maryland Department of Health (Estates and Trusts 3-105). For how intestate succession and the probate process work as concepts, see our guide to probate real estate.

How long Maryland probate takes depends on which of three procedures the estate uses. A small estate can close in a matter of weeks, modified administration is built to finish within about a year, and a regular estate commonly runs several months to well over a year depending on its complexity. Maryland uses a three-tier system rather than a simple small-versus-large split, and the middle tier is the one most people have never heard of.

What Is a Small Estate in Maryland?

A small estate is available when the probate property is worth $50,000 or less, or $100,000 or less when the surviving spouse is the sole heir (Estates and Trusts 5-601 and following). It is the fastest and cheapest path: no probate filing fees, no formal inventory or accounting, and no personal representative commission, with the Register of Wills handling most of it. Small estate property is also exempt from the Maryland inheritance tax. One practical limit for inherited real estate is that the threshold is based on the property subject to administration, and a single Maryland house can exceed it on its own, which pushes many estates with real estate into modified or regular administration.

What Is Modified Administration in Maryland?

Modified administration is a streamlined process available when everyone inheriting is close family. To qualify, the estate must be solvent and every residuary heir must be the personal representative, a person exempt from the inheritance tax, or a qualifying trust (Estates and Trusts 5-701 through 5-710). The personal representative elects it within three months, all residuary heirs consent, and the estate skips the formal inventory and accounting in favor of a single verified final report due within ten months, with distribution within twelve. It is the path most Maryland families with a straightforward estate should ask about by name, because almost no commercial guide explains it.

What Does a Regular Estate Require?

A regular estate is the full court-supervised process for anything above the small estate threshold that does not elect modified administration. It requires a petition for probate, appointment of a personal representative, a bond unless waived (Estates and Trusts 6-102), published notice to creditors, an inventory within three months, an information report, and an administration account before the estate closes. Maryland charges a graduated probate fee based on the size of the estate, and the personal representative is entitled to a commission capped at 9 percent of the first $20,000 of the property subject to administration, plus 3.6 percent of anything above that (Estates and Trusts 7-601). Creditors generally have six months from the date of death to file claims, and even when the house can be listed and sold before the estate fully closes, the personal representative may need to hold the sale proceeds until the creditor period runs and the inheritance tax, any estate tax, a Medicaid estate recovery claim, the family allowance, and the final accounting are resolved. For how creditor claims interact with the property itself, see our guide on whether creditors can take inherited property.

Does Probate Go Through the Orphans’ Court or Circuit Court?

Most Maryland counties handle probate disputes in a separate elected Orphans’ Court. Montgomery County and Harford County are the two exceptions, where the Circuit Court sits as the Orphans’ Court. The difference affects how matters are filed and the kind of representation parties may need.

If an estate is only slightly above the small estate limit, the added filing, bond, inventory, accounting, and commission rules of a regular estate can feel disproportionate to the value involved, so it is worth comparing all three paths before choosing one. For the general mechanics, see our guides to probate real estate and what a personal representative needs to do to sell inherited property.

The fastest ways to transfer inherited Maryland property are the ones set up before death; after death, the route runs through one of the three administration tiers. The list below ranks the routes and, for each, notes who it fits, how quickly it moves, whether probate is required, and the main title or sale risk.

• Tenancy by the entireties. Best for married couples who held title together. Immediate, no probate. Main risk: applies only to married couples, and survivorship and vesting must be clear before a sale.
• Living trust. Best for owners who funded a trust during life. Fast, no probate. Main risk: the property must actually have been deeded into the trust.
• Transfer-on-Death Deed. Best for owners who recorded it during life, for deaths on or after October 1, 2026. Fast after death, no probate. Main risk: not operative before the effective date, and it does not clear liens or the inheritance tax.
• Small estate administration. Best for estates whose probate property is at or under the threshold. Weeks, simplified probate. Main risk: a single Maryland house can exceed the threshold.
• Modified administration. Best for solvent close-family estates. About a year, streamlined probate. Main risk: any non-exempt heir or an insolvent estate breaks eligibility.
• Regular estate. Best for larger, insolvent, or contested estates. Several months to over a year, full probate. Main risk: creditor claims and accounting can delay the release of sale proceeds.

The right path depends on whether there is a will, who the heirs are, how the property was titled, and whether the estate has debts. For more on the planning side, see our guide to how to avoid probate on real estate.

A surviving spouse in Maryland who is left out of a will is not without options, but the protection is not a right to stay in the house. Maryland has no homestead exemption in the Florida or Texas sense, so the family residence is not automatically protected from estate creditors and the spouse has no automatic lifetime right of occupancy. What the spouse does have is the right to claim an elective share against the estate, plus a modest family allowance. If you are the surviving spouse deciding whether and how to sell, see our guide to selling a house after the death of a spouse.

How Does the Maryland Elective Share Work?

Maryland rewrote its elective share law effective October 1, 2020, and the change is one most online guides have not caught up with. A surviving spouse can elect to take one-third of the estate subject to election if the decedent left descendants, or one-half if not (Estates and Trusts 3-403). The reform matters because the share is now measured against an augmented estate, which reaches beyond the probate estate to revocable trusts, certain jointly titled property, and certain transfers the decedent made during life (Estates and Trusts 3-404). In plain terms, a decedent can no longer disinherit a spouse simply by moving the family home into a revocable trust or retitling it with children from a prior marriage; the value is pulled back in, and the spouse can reach it. The election has a deadline: the later of nine months after death or six months after the personal representative is appointed, with extensions available (Estates and Trusts 3-407). It can be waived by a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, and a registered domestic partner is not entitled to it (Estates and Trusts 2-214).

Does Maryland Have a Homestead Right or Family Allowance?

Maryland has no homestead right that lets a surviving spouse occupy the residence for life, but it does provide a family allowance: $10,000 for the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, plus $5,000 for each unmarried minor child of the decedent (Estates and Trusts 3-201). The allowance is paid ahead of most creditors and is in addition to whatever the spouse inherits or elects. One consequence of the augmented-estate rules worth knowing for blended families: a spouse who was deeded out of the family home before death may still be able to reach its value through an elective share, even though the title has already moved.

Maryland inherited property can touch four different taxes, and it helps to keep them separate because they work on completely different logic:

• Estate tax: based on the size of the estate. Only large estates pay it.
• Inheritance tax: based on who receives the property, not how large the estate is. Close family is exempt.
• Capital gains tax: based on the sale price compared with the property’s stepped-up basis, which is its value at the date of death.
• Recordation and transfer taxes: closing and recording costs that vary by county.

Does Maryland Have a State Estate Tax?

Yes, but it applies only to larger estates. The Maryland estate tax (Tax-General 7-301 through 7-309) has a $5 million exemption per person, in place since 2019 and not adjusted for inflation. The top rate is 16 percent, and it applies only to the portion of a taxable estate well above the exemption. A surviving spouse can carry over a deceased spouse’s unused exemption by filing the estate tax return (Form MET-1) within nine months, which can give a married couple a combined exemption of up to about $10 million. Maryland taxes residents on their full estates and nonresidents on the Maryland real estate and tangible property they owned. A 2025 proposal to cut the exemption to $2 million and a 2026 bill to repeal the estate tax both failed, so the exemption remains $5 million.

Does Maryland Have an Inheritance Tax?

Yes, and Maryland is the only state with both an estate tax and a separate inheritance tax. The Maryland inheritance tax (Tax-General 7-201 through 7-234) is a flat 10 percent on the value of property passing to a non-exempt beneficiary. It is based on who inherits, not how large the estate is, so the key question is which side of the exempt line a beneficiary falls on. The Maryland Register of Wills publishes the current exemptions and rates on its inheritance tax page.

A $400,000 Maryland house left to a nephew creates roughly a $40,000 inheritance tax, settled before the nephew receives the property, while the same house left to a child or sibling creates no inheritance tax at all. The tax can also reach property that never goes through probate: if an uncle names a niece as the beneficiary of a transfer-on-death deed after the new law becomes operative, probate may be avoided, but the niece can still owe the 10 percent because she is not in an exempt class. Gifts made within two years of death, or in contemplation of death, can also be pulled back and taxed as if they were inherited (Tax-General 7-204).

Who Pays the Maryland Inheritance Tax?

The person distributing the property is responsible for paying it before distribution (Tax-General 7-216), so in most estates it is settled out of estate funds before the heirs receive anything. Who bears the cost can vary: under a will the tax may fall on the estate or on the legatee depending on the will, an heir taking without a will is generally responsible for the tax on their share, and the recipient can be liable if the property passes without distribution or the distributor does not pay. It is worth confirming early how the 10 percent will be handled on any share going to a non-exempt heir, so it does not become a surprise at settlement.

Does a Maryland Small Estate Avoid the Inheritance Tax?

Yes. Property that passes through a qualifying small estate is exempt from the Maryland inheritance tax. That said, the small estate path is often unavailable for a home, because the value of the real estate alone can exceed the threshold, so most inherited houses are taxed under the normal rules based on who inherits.

What Capital Gains Tax Applies When You Sell?

Maryland has a state income tax, unlike Texas or Florida, so any gain when you sell an inherited property is subject to Maryland income tax in addition to federal tax. The gain is measured against the property’s stepped-up basis, its value at the date of death rather than what the decedent originally paid, so in many cases the taxable gain on a reasonably prompt sale is small. The federal mechanics of the stepped-up basis are the same in every state; our guide to capital gains tax on inherited property explains how to calculate the gain. If the inherited property was held as an investment or rental and you intend to reinvest the proceeds into another investment property, a 1031 exchange can defer the gain rather than recognizing it at sale.

Do Out-of-State Heirs Face Maryland Withholding at Closing?

Often yes. When a nonresident sells Maryland real property, Maryland generally collects income-tax withholding at closing as an estimated payment toward the tax that may be owed on the sale, using Form MW506NRS, and the deed usually cannot be recorded until it is handled. The withholding is taken from the sale proceeds at a percentage of the payment set by the Comptroller, unless an exemption applies. A seller who expects little or no gain can apply for a Certificate of Full or Partial Exemption (Form MW506AE) at least 21 days before closing so that withholding is based on the actual gain rather than the full price, and a property that qualifies as the seller’s principal residence may be exempt. Any over-withholding is refunded after the Maryland return is filed. You can read the current requirements and rate in the Maryland Comptroller’s withholding requirements.

Do Maryland Recordation or Transfer Taxes Apply?

Maryland does not have a California- or Florida-style reassessment that spikes the property tax the moment you inherit. The costs to watch at closing are the state transfer tax and county recordation taxes, which vary noticeably from county to county, with Montgomery County’s among the higher ones. Transfers of inherited property through an estate are generally exempt from the state transfer tax, and the new transfer-on-death deed law adds a recordation and transfer-tax exemption when the property is the owner’s primary or secondary residence. That exemption applies to the transfer-on-death transfer itself; it does not exempt the normal transfer, recordation, nonresident withholding, or income-tax issues that can apply when the beneficiary later sells. For the broader tax picture, see our complete guide to inherited property taxes.

To sell inherited Maryland property, the title company needs proof of who has the legal authority to sign the deed, and that depends on how the property is passing.

Who Signs the Deed for Inherited Property in Maryland?

The signer depends on how the property is passing: the personal representative signs estate property, using Letters Testamentary if there is a will admitted to probate or Letters of Administration if there is none; the surviving spouse signs tenancy-by-the-entireties property, typically with the death certificate; the trustee signs trust property, with the trust document or a certificate of trust; and the named beneficiary signs transfer-on-death-deed property once the transfer is perfected, for deaths on or after October 1, 2026.

Can You Sell an Inherited Maryland House Before Probate Closes?

Often yes. In a regular estate, the personal representative can usually list and sell the property and sign the deed before the estate is fully closed, as long as the personal representative has authority to sell and the title company is willing to insure the transaction. The sale proceeds, though, frequently have to stay in the estate until the creditor-claim period runs and the inheritance tax, any estate tax, a Medicaid estate recovery claim, the family allowance, and the final accounting are resolved, so closing the sale does not always mean the heirs receive the cash right away. The answer changes when the heirs disagree, when title is unclear, or when the property is passing outside probate through a trust, a survivorship deed, or a transfer-on-death deed.

What Documents Does a Maryland Title Company Need?

The exact list varies by how the property is passing, but a Maryland title company will commonly ask for:

• The death certificate
• The current deed showing how title is vested
• Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, for estate property
• The will and the probate order, if there is a will
• A certificate of trust or the trust document, for trust property
• Recorded survivorship evidence for entireties or joint-tenancy property
• The transfer-on-death deed and post-death documentation, for deaths on or after October 1, 2026
• An inheritance-tax receipt or release, or other Register of Wills documentation, where applicable
• Payoff statements for any mortgage or liens, plus HOA or condominium documents, water and municipal charges, and ground-rent information if the property is subject to ground rent

The personal representative also has to file an information report listing non-probate property such as trusts, jointly held assets, payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts, and gifts made within two years of death. If the decedent received Maryland Medicaid long-term-care benefits, the Maryland Department of Health may file an estate recovery claim that has to be resolved before the heirs receive the proceeds; see our guide on whether Medicaid can take an inherited house. Maryland also lets a home seller choose between giving a disclosure of known defects or a disclaimer as to condition, but not both (Real Property 10-702), which is useful when selling an inherited home you never lived in. For the full paperwork picture, see our list of documents you need to sell inherited property.

If you live in another state and inherited Maryland real estate, you usually do not have to run a second full probate in Maryland. Maryland has a simplified procedure for a foreign personal representative, meaning the executor or administrator already appointed in the state where the decedent lived. The foreign personal representative files an application with the Register of Wills in the Maryland county where the largest share by value of the Maryland property sits, the Register sets any Maryland inheritance tax due, the personal representative pays it, and the Register issues documentation that can be recorded in the land records to put title in the heirs (Estates and Trusts 5-501 through 5-507, with the procedure in Maryland Rule 6-501). This avoids opening a full ancillary estate in most cases.

For example, if someone lived in Virginia but owned a rental house in Montgomery County, the Virginia personal representative may be able to use this process instead of opening a full second Maryland probate. The Maryland inheritance tax on the Montgomery County property, the resident-agent designation, the land-record documentation, and the title company’s requirements still have to be handled, and an out-of-state seller should also plan for the Maryland nonresident withholding at closing covered in the tax section above. A Maryland broker who regularly works with out-of-state heirs can help coordinate timing among the personal representative, the title company, and the Register of Wills. For the general cross-state process, see our guides to ancillary probate and selling inherited property from out of state.

Maryland has adopted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (Real Property 14-107.4 and following), which gives co-heirs appraisal, buyout, and open-market-sale protections before any forced sale of inherited family property. When several heirs inherit a Maryland property together and cannot agree on what to do with it, this law is what protects them against a forced fire-sale. Instead of sending the property straight to auction, the court orders an independent appraisal, gives the other co-owners a chance to buy out the share of the owner who asked to sell at the appraised price, prefers physically dividing the property where practical, and, if a sale is ordered, defaults to an open-market sale rather than a courthouse-step auction.

What Happens If Maryland Co-Heirs Disagree About Selling?

Disagreement among heirs is one of the most common reasons an inherited Maryland property stalls. A few patterns come up again and again: one sibling wants to sell and another wants to keep the property, one heir lives in the home but is not on the title, the property taxes have fallen behind, no one has opened probate, or the title has passed informally through the family for years. The protections above give co-owners real options short of a fire-sale, but the practical path usually starts with figuring out who actually holds title and whether probate needs to be opened first. These situations are most common in the tangled-title cases seen in Baltimore City and Prince George’s County. For more on co-owned sales, see our guides to whether a sibling can force the sale of inherited property and selling inherited property with siblings.

Older or outdated Maryland materials, and some general national guides, sometimes state inherited-property rules that are no longer correct. The corrections below are stated against current Maryland law so you can sanity-check what you read elsewhere.

• Some sources state that a surviving spouse’s intestate share is $15,000 or $40,000. Those are older figures. When the decedent left adult descendants who are not the spouse’s, the share is the first $100,000 plus half the residue (Estates and Trusts 3-102), and that has been the law since 2017.
• Some sources describe Maryland’s transfer-on-death deed as already available, or cite an Estates and Trusts code section for it. The deed is established under the Real Property Article, Title 14, Subtitle 10, and does not take effect until October 1, 2026, applying to deaths on or after that date.
• Some sources oversimplify the inheritance tax. It is a flat 10 percent, not a graduated rate, and while it is often settled out of the estate before distribution, the person distributing the property is the one responsible for paying it, with the recipient potentially liable when property passes without distribution or the distributor does not pay (Tax-General 7-216).

Maryland enacted several changes in 2025 and 2026 that affect inherited real estate. The dates below are the effective dates, not the dates of passage.

• Maryland Transfer-on-Death Deed Act (HB 738, Chapter 751 / SB 651, Chapter 750), effective October 1, 2026. Establishes a transfer-on-death deed for real estate under the Real Property Article, Title 14, Subtitle 10; exempts the deed from recordation and transfer tax for a primary or secondary residence; applies to deeds recorded before the effective date when the owner dies on or after October 1, 2026; and does not avoid the inheritance tax.
• Disclaimer Act amendments (companion to the deed law), effective October 1, 2026. Lets a transfer-on-death beneficiary who does not want the property formally disclaim it.
• Nonresident estate changes (SB 277 / HB 17), effective July 1, 2026. Simplifies venue and changes how a nonresident decedent’s intangible property is taxed, while leaving Maryland real estate fully subject to the Maryland inheritance tax.
• Legacy Protection Program (SB 765, Chapter 719 / HB 1148, Chapter 718), introduced earlier as the Heirs Protection Program, effective June 1, 2026 and July 1, 2027. Creates a program under the State Tax Sale Ombudsman to help heirs who inherit a dwelling become the record title holder, prevent tax sales of those inherited homes, and allow heirs to remain in them.
• Tax sale protections (HB 59, 2025 session), effective January 1, 2026. Requires certain eligible owner-occupied and heir-occupied homes to be withheld from tax sale and tightens notice and redemption rules. The protection depends on registry and Tax Sale Ombudsman designation steps, so it is not automatic for every delinquent inherited home.
• No reduction in the estate tax, and no repeal of the inheritance tax. Both were proposed in 2026 and neither passed; the estate tax exemption remains $5 million and the inheritance tax remains in place. No 2026 law changed the elective share, the small estate threshold, modified administration, or the intestate succession formula.