Probate and Real Estate in the DMV: A Complete Guide to Navigating Inherited Property in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C.

A few months ago I got a call from a woman in Bethesda. Her father had died six weeks earlier and she’d just learned she was the executor of his estate. He owned a row house in Prince George’s County, no mortgage, free and clear. She thought selling it would be straightforward. What she didn’t realize was that the house was titled solely in her father’s name, and that meant nothing could happen with it until probate was opened and she had the legal authority to act on the estate’s behalf.

That call is one I’ve had dozens of times over my career, and the confusion is always the same. Selling a house in probate is the court-supervised process that gives you legal authority to transfer real property owned solely by someone who has died. Without it, no title company, no buyer, and no lender will proceed. You cannot convey what you don’t legally have standing to sell. That basic fact is the foundation for everything else in this guide.

What Probate Actually Means for Real Property

Probate is the legal process through which a court oversees the transfer of a deceased person’s assets. It involves validating a will if one exists, appointing a personal representative, inventorying assets, notifying creditors, paying debts and taxes, and distributing whatever remains to the beneficiaries or heirs.

Real property is the most common high-value asset that requires probate when titled solely in the decedent’s name. The reason is simple: that person’s name is still on the deed. Until a court formally appoints someone with legal authority to act on behalf of the estate, that title cannot move. No buyer’s attorney will clear it. No title insurance company will insure it. According to Federal Title and Escrow Company, roughly one-third of all properties have a title issue surface at the time of sale or refinance, and probate properties are among the most likely to present complications.

Not all real property goes through probate, and the distinction is worth understanding. Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or as tenancy by the entirety between married spouses (recognized in all three DMV jurisdictions), transfers automatically to the surviving co-owner at death. Property held in a properly funded revocable living trust also avoids probate entirely. And in Virginia (but not in Maryland or D.C.), a Transfer on Death deed allows an owner to designate a beneficiary who receives the property without any court involvement. Virginia adopted that option in 2013. Maryland and D.C. have not.

If the property was held in any of these ways, probate may not be required for the real estate. If it was in the decedent’s name alone, it is.

How Probate Works in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C.: Key Differences

The three jurisdictions share the same basic framework but differ meaningfully in practice. Here’s a working comparison of the facts that matter most for homeowners and executors:

The Virginia distinction deserves a separate note because it surprises people every time. Real property in Virginia generally does not become part of the probate estate unless the will specifically authorizes the executor to sell it. The property passes directly to the named beneficiaries under the will, or to the legal heirs if there’s no will. That is fundamentally different from Maryland and D.C., and it shapes everything about how an executor can and cannot act regarding the property.

Another thing worth knowing: an estimated 67% to 76% of Americans die without a will. When there’s no will, the estate is distributed under each jurisdiction’s intestacy laws, which follow a statutory hierarchy. Generally, the surviving spouse comes first, then children, then more distant relatives. The administrator appointed in that situation has the same responsibilities as an executor but is working without a roadmap, which typically means more time, more complexity, and more potential for disagreement among heirs.

Can You Sell a House While It’s In Probate?

Yes. In all three jurisdictions you can sell real property during probate. But you need the right legal authority in place first, and that’s where the process differs.

In Maryland, the personal representative can generally sell real property once Letters of Administration have been issued, without needing separate court approval for the sale in most circumstances. The fiduciary duty still applies: you are obligated to act in the estate’s best interest and obtain fair market value. If the will restricts the personal representative’s authority, court approval may be required. If heirs disagree about selling, the Orphans’ Court can step in and resolve the dispute.

In Virginia, because real property typically passes outside of probate, the analysis is different. If the property went directly to beneficiaries under the will, the executor generally does not have authority to sell it on the estate’s behalf. Those beneficiaries are the owners and must agree to any sale. If the will grants the executor specific authority to sell, or if the estate’s debts require the property to be liquidated, then the executor can act. When multiple heirs inherit and can’t reach agreement, Virginia’s partition laws allow any co-owner to petition the court for a sale. Virginia has adopted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, which provides some protection against forced below-market sales by requiring appraisals and giving co-owners a right of first refusal before a court-ordered sale proceeds.

In D.C., the personal representative can sell real property during unsupervised administration with broad authority, without seeking court approval for each transaction, though the fiduciary duty to act in the estate’s best interest still applies. Supervised administration, used in more complex or contested cases, does require court approval before major transactions.

The practical reality across all three jurisdictions is that probate sales create complications for some traditional buyers. Title companies require Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary, certified copies of the will (if one exists), and documentation confirming that the person signing the deed has the legal authority to do so. Buyers using financing sometimes get uneasy about the additional paperwork and the timeline uncertainty that probate adds to a closing. Some buyers simply walk away from probate properties because they’ve heard the process is complicated.

That’s not a reason to automatically avoid a traditional listing. But it is something to factor into your expectations and your timeline.

Your Options for an Inherited Property in the DMV

Once you have legal authority to act, you have four main paths. None is automatically right or wrong.

1. Keep the property and live in it. This is practical when a single heir inherits or when co-heirs reach agreement that one person should occupy it. The step-up in basis means the appreciation that occurred during the decedent’s lifetime is not taxable if you eventually sell. You will need to account for ongoing property taxes, insurance, and any outstanding mortgage.
2. Convert it to a rental. Some heirs hold the property and generate rental income. This creates landlord responsibilities and has tax implications around depreciation on inherited property that are worth discussing with a CPA before you commit. It also keeps the property on your plate indefinitely.
3. List it with a traditional real estate agent. The conventional approach gives you maximum market exposure and potentially the highest gross sale price. Average total real estate commission in the DMV is approximately 5.50%, typically split 2.75% to each agent. The listing-to-close process typically takes 60 to 120 days or more, and inherited properties often need at minimum a thorough cleaning and assessment before they can compete on the open market.
4. Sell to a cash buyer or homeowner assistance company. A faster, simpler transaction that can close in 7 to 30 days, typically as-is, with no commissions. The tradeoff is price: cash buyers generally offer somewhere in the range of 70% to 85% of fair market value, though that varies based on condition, location, and market timing.

There is no universally correct answer. The right path depends on the property’s condition, how quickly the estate needs to resolve its obligations, how many heirs are involved, and how much bandwidth you have to manage the process.

The Tax Side of Inherited Property: What Most People Get Wrong

The step-up in cost basis is one of the most valuable provisions in the federal tax code for heirs, and it is consistently underestimated or missed entirely.

Here is how it works. The decedent purchased a home in 1988 for $80,000. At the time of their death, that home is appraised at $520,000. Your cost basis for capital gains purposes is not $80,000. It is $520,000, the fair market value on the date of death. If you sell the following year for $540,000, your taxable gain is $20,000, not $440,000. This provision was confirmed as remaining intact under tax legislation signed in July 2025, so it applies under current law.

This is why getting a formal appraisal at the time of death matters. Without a documented fair market value established at that date, you cannot accurately calculate your stepped-up basis, and you risk overpaying capital gains tax when the property eventually sells. Get the appraisal. It is worth every dollar.

On the estate tax side: the federal exemption was permanently raised to $15 million per individual effective January 1, 2026, which means most DMV estates will not trigger federal estate tax. Maryland is a different situation. The state imposes its own estate tax on estates exceeding $5 million, with rates up to 16%, and a flat 10% inheritance tax on assets passing to non-exempt beneficiaries. Exempt beneficiaries include spouses, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings. If you’re a niece, nephew, cousin, or unrelated beneficiary, that 10% applies regardless of the estate’s total size. Virginia has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. D.C. imposes an estate tax on estates above approximately $4,988,400 for 2026, with rates from 11.2% to 16%, and unlike the federal exemption, D.C.’s is not portable between spouses.

If you’re dealing with a significant estate, talk to a qualified tax professional before making decisions about timing or disposition. These numbers have real consequences.

When Heir Disagreements Stall Everything

I’ve seen this more times than I can count. Three adult children inherit their parents’ home in Hyattsville. One wants to sell immediately and take their share. One wants to hold onto the property because it has sentimental value. The third is living in Phoenix and just wants the situation resolved so they can move on. Nobody agrees. Nothing moves.

In Maryland, if the will grants the personal representative authority to sell, they can generally proceed even over an heir’s objection, though the Orphans’ Court may be asked to weigh in. Once an estate has been closed and the property distributed to multiple heirs as tenants in common, any co-owner can file a partition action in Circuit Court to force a division or sale. In Virginia, because real property typically passes directly to beneficiaries, disputes among co-owners go to the civil courts rather than the probate court. D.C. has comparable partition remedies available.

Here is what I tell executors in this situation, and I say it plainly: heir disagreements can add 6 to 24 months to the process. During that entire stretch, the property is generating property taxes, insurance premiums, utility bills, and maintenance expenses. That’s money coming straight out of what everyone eventually receives. Getting everyone aligned early, with honest communication and realistic expectations, is almost always less expensive than letting the stalemate run.

The Carrying Cost Problem Most Executors Underestimate

Every month a probate property sits unsold, the estate is spending money. Property taxes, homeowners insurance, utilities, any mortgage payments, and basic maintenance to prevent deterioration. For a property in the $450,000 to $630,000 range, typical of Prince George’s County to Montgomery County, those combined costs can run $2,500 to $4,000 per month or more depending on the mortgage and the property’s condition.

If you’re choosing between a traditional listing and a cash sale, the timeline difference is real money. The DMV market currently shows an average of 36 to 75 days on market before contract, depending on the jurisdiction and property type, plus another 45 to 60 days to reach closing with a financed buyer. A cash sale can close in 7 to 30 days. Over a 3 to 4 month window, that difference in carrying costs narrows the gap between the two net proceeds figures considerably.

That does not mean a cash sale is always the better answer. A well-maintained property in a competitive submarket like Arlington or Fairfax County, where medians run from $627,000 to over $750,000, may well justify the time and investment of a traditional listing. But for a property that needs significant work, or where the estate has limited liquid assets, the math often tells a different story than the listing price alone suggests.

Common Mistakes Executors Make With Inherited Real Property

A few things I see go wrong repeatedly, and most of them are avoidable.

When a Cash Buyer or Homeowner Assistance Company Is the Right Call

I want to be direct about this because there is a lot of noise around the topic. Selling to a cash buyer is not a desperation move. It is a rational, practical decision under specific circumstances. Here is when it tends to make the most financial and logistical sense:

• The property needs significant repairs and the estate doesn’t have funds to make them. Traditional buyers using financing may be unable to obtain a mortgage on a property that doesn’t meet minimum condition standards.
• The estate needs to close quickly to stop ongoing carrying costs from depleting what heirs ultimately receive.
• Heirs are geographically dispersed and cannot practically manage the coordination required for a traditional listing, showings, negotiations, and repairs.
• There are title complications, unreleased liens, judgment debts against the decedent, or other encumbrances that make traditional lenders walk away.
• The property is at risk of foreclosure.
• The executor is already managing a full-time job, their own family, and estate administration simultaneously, and does not have the bandwidth for an extended traditional sale process.

The honest tradeoff is price. Cash buyers typically offer somewhere between 70% and 85% of fair market value. That sounds significant. But when you factor out agent commissions (approximately 5.50% in the DMV), estimated repair costs, and three to four months of carrying costs, the net proceeds from a traditional sale and a well-structured cash offer are often much closer than the headline numbers suggest.

The right approach is to know what both options actually put in your pocket, not just what a listing price might say. That is exactly the kind of work we do with executors and heirs at DMV Solutions First Properties every week.

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