Opening an Estate to Pursue a Claim
Published .
The general concept
An estate is the legal structure through which a decedent’s probate property, obligations, and claims are administered. When a person dies with a potential personal-injury claim, someone with legal authority may need to be appointed to act for the estate. That person is called the personal representative.
How Maryland applies it
In Maryland, the process usually begins by filing a petition with the Register of Wills for the county connected to the decedent’s domicile, together with required information about the will, assets, family, and interested persons. The Register or Orphans’ Court issues letters appointing the personal representative after the applicable requirements are met. Statutory priority governs who may serve; the will, consents, renunciations, bond rules, and objections can affect the appointment. The personal representative is a fiduciary who controls estate claims, including a survival action, and must act for the estate rather than for personal advantage. Interested persons may receive notice, consent, object, seek information, or ask the court to address the representative’s conduct. A wrongful-death claim has its own statutory beneficiaries and is not simply an estate asset. Even when the principal reason for administration is litigation, the proper estate type and filing depend on the facts; the claim itself may be an asset, and the Register of Wills can identify the required petition and forms.
Related Maryland Cases and Authorities
Md. Code, Estates & Trusts §§ 5-104, 6-101, 6-102, 7-401(y).; Maryland Rule 6-122 (petition for administration).; Maryland Register of Wills, Administration of Estates guidance.