To get appointed Personal Representative of an Estate, one must submit a Petition for Estate Administration. Based on the assets of the Estate, as discussed above, the Petition is a Regular Estate Petition for Administration or a Small Estate Petition for Administration. The Petition must identify the decedent by their legal name. It must also state the date and place of death as well as the Maryland county in which the decedent was domiciled (the Petition must be filed in the county of decedent’s domicile). The Petition must state the name and address of the Petitioner as well as attest that the Petitioner is mentally competent, has not been convicted of fraud, extortion, embezzlement, forgery, perjury, theft or any other serious crime that reflects adversely on their honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness to perform the duties of a Personal Representative. The Petitioner must also state why they are entitled to be appointed based on the Priority of Appointment statute and also to affirm that they are not a disqualified person because of feloniously and intentionally killing, conspiring to kill, or procuring the killing of the decedent.
In addition, the Petitioner must state whether or not the decedent died with a Will or Intestate. If there is a Will, the date of the Will and names and addresses of the witnesses must be disclosed in the Petition. If there is a Will, the original must be submitted with the Petition. If the original is lost, a copy may be submitted for the Court’s inspection and consideration along with an additional Petition and Order to Probate a Copy of the Will. This may result in a Court hearing, known as Judicial Probate, prior to appointment of a Personal Representative.
A Death Certificate, along with other information and documentation must be submitted with the Petition.