How to Value Household Contents for a Maryland Probate Inventory

Last updated: August 30, 2026

If you have been appointed personal representative of a Maryland estate, one of your first deadlines is the inventory — a filing that lists every probate asset the decedent owned and states what each was worth on the date of death. Household contents are where most people get stuck, and where a surprising number of inventories are filed incorrectly.

Do you have to appraise household contents for a Maryland probate inventory?

In most cases, yes — and you generally cannot do it yourself. Under Maryland Estates and Trusts § 7-202, a personal representative is permitted to personally appraise only a narrow set of assets, primarily publicly listed securities and a few limited categories. For everything else, the statute states that the personal representative shall secure an independent appraisal. Household contents and tangible personal property fall on the independent-appraisal side of that line.

This surprises a lot of families. The common assumption is that you can walk through the house, estimate a round number, and write “contents of residence — $3,000” on the form. That is not what Maryland asks for, and the statute goes further: the name and address of each appraiser must be listed on the inventory next to the items that appraiser valued. The form itself is built to show who did the work.

What counts as household contents?

Broadly, the tangible personal property inside the home that does not pass outside probate. In practice that means:

• Furniture, rugs, lamps, and window treatments
• Appliances not affixed to the property
• China, silver, glassware, and serving pieces
• Jewelry and watches
• Artwork, prints, and decorative objects
• Collections — coins, stamps, books, records, militaria, sports memorabilia
• Tools, lawn and garden equipment, and workshop contents
• Electronics, cameras, and musical instruments
• Firearms

Ordinary clothing and worn-out goods of negligible value are typically grouped rather than itemized. The distinction that matters is not sentimental value — it is whether an item would fetch a meaningful price if sold.

What does “fair market value” mean for probate purposes?

Fair market value is the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller, with neither under compulsion and both reasonably informed, as of the date of death — not today, and not when you got around to the inventory.

Three things fair market value is not, all of which produce wrong numbers:

• Replacement cost. What it would cost to buy a comparable new sofa is irrelevant. What matters is what that sofa would sell for used.
• Insurance value. Scheduled insurance values are typically replacement-based and often run well above market.
• What the family paid, or what it meant to them. A dining set bought for $8,000 in 1994 may realistically bring $400 today. That is not disrespect to the decedent; it is the market.

The gap between what families expect and what the secondhand market actually pays for brown furniture, formal china, and silver plate is the single most common source of shock in this process. Most mid-century and later household goods are worth far less than families assume — while a handful of items, often ones nobody flagged, are worth far more.

When is the Maryland probate inventory due?

Within three months of your appointment as personal representative, under Maryland Estates and Trusts § 7-201. The inventory must list each item in reasonably descriptive detail, state its fair market value as of the date of death, and note the type and amount of any encumbrance against it.

For context on where that sits in the wider timeline: a List of Interested Persons is due within 20 days of appointment in a regular estate, and the first account is generally due within nine months. The inventory is the deadline that arrives while the family is often still sorting through the house — which is exactly why it gets rushed.

Inventory forms are filed with the Register of Wills in the county where the decedent lived. Current forms and filing instructions are published by the Maryland Register of Wills, and requirements vary slightly by county, so confirm the current version with your local office before filing.

How the valuation actually gets done

Step 1 — Walk the property room by room. Every room, plus attic, basement, garage, sheds, and any storage unit. Photograph as you go. Photographs taken before anything is moved or distributed are the best protection a personal representative has if the inventory is questioned later.

Step 2 — Separate the ordinary from the potentially significant. The bulk of a typical household is routine goods that can be grouped and valued as lots. A smaller set of items — jewelry, art, collections, firearms, antiques, quality instruments — needs individual attention and sometimes a specialist.

Step 3 — Research comparable sales. Realized auction prices, completed secondhand-market sales, and specialist dealer data — not asking prices. What something is listed for tells you nothing; what it actually sold for is the evidence.

Step 4 — Document the basis for every number. The value matters, but so does the reasoning behind it. A well-supported inventory can be explained to a beneficiary, an attorney, or the Register. An unsupported one cannot.

Vehicles and real property follow different rules

Maryland gives you shortcuts on two categories that trip people up because they are treated unlike everything else.

Motor vehicles. Under § 7-202(d), instead of an appraisal, a personal representative may value a vehicle using the average value from the National Automobile Dealers’ Association official used car guide, or a substantially similar guide designated by the Register. You do not need an independent appraiser for an ordinary car. Note that collector and specialty vehicles often fall outside what a standard guide reflects.

Real property. Under § 7-202(c), instead of a fair market appraisal, real and leasehold property may be valued at the full cash value used for property tax assessment as of the most recent date of finality, or at the contract sales price where the statutory conditions are met. The SDAT assessment route is convenient, but be aware it can diverge meaningfully from actual market value in either direction — which matters when beneficiaries are comparing what the inventory says against what the house eventually sells for.

Why getting the number wrong carries real consequences

The inventory is not a formality. It sets the official value of the estate, and several things run off it.

• Maryland inheritance tax. Maryland imposes a 10% inheritance tax on assets passing to beneficiaries who are not exempt. Spouses, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, and siblings are exempt; nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and unmarried partners generally are not. When a non-exempt beneficiary is involved, every valuation on the inventory has a direct tax consequence.
• Personal representative exposure. You are acting in a fiduciary capacity. Understating assets — even carelessly rather than deliberately — is the kind of thing that draws scrutiny and, in the worst case, a petition to remove you.
• Family conflict. Most estate disputes we see are not about money in the abstract. They start when one beneficiary believes an item was undervalued before it went to someone else. A documented, independent valuation is the cheapest conflict insurance available.
• Basis for beneficiaries. Date-of-death value generally establishes the beneficiary’s basis in inherited property, which affects their tax picture if they later sell.

A note on cleaning out the house

The most common and most costly mistake is clearing the property before anything is valued or photographed. Families under time pressure — an out-of-state relative with a return flight, a mortgage payment coming due, a buyer waiting — will empty a house in a weekend and then discover they have no way to support the inventory they are legally obligated to file.

Value first, then clear. It is a difference of days, and it is not recoverable once the contents are gone.

Common Questions

Can I value the household contents myself as personal representative?

Generally no. Maryland Estates and Trusts § 7-202 limits self-appraisal to a narrow set of asset categories and requires an independent appraisal for the rest, including household contents. The appraiser’s name and address must appear on the inventory alongside the items valued.

Does a small estate need an inventory?

Maryland’s small estate track — for gross probate assets of $50,000 or less, or $100,000 where the surviving spouse is the sole heir or legatee — carries substantially lighter requirements than regular administration and no filing fee for estates opened on or after October 1, 2022. You still need to establish values to determine whether the estate qualifies in the first place, which is its own reason to get the contents valued early.

How is this different from a real estate appraisal?

A licensed real estate appraisal addresses real property value, usually for lending. Household contents valuation covers tangible personal property — furniture, jewelry, collections, tools, vehicles — which most real estate appraisers do not handle. Estates frequently need both.

What if items were already distributed to family members?

They still belong on the inventory at date-of-death value if they were probate assets. Distribution does not remove an item from the estate for reporting purposes. Photographs, receipts, and beneficiary recollection can help reconstruct values, though reconstruction is always weaker than valuing items in place.

How long does a household contents valuation take?

For a typical single-family home, the walkthrough takes a few hours and the documented report follows within several days. Larger properties, significant collections, or estates requiring specialist input take longer. Starting well before the three-month deadline gives you room for a specialist referral if something unexpected turns up.

Which Maryland court handles probate?

Filings go to the Register of Wills in the county where the decedent lived. Most counties have an Orphans’ Court for contested matters, but Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Howard counties route probate matters through the Circuit Court instead.

Getting help with a Maryland estate inventory

Bluebeam Property Services provides credentialed valuation services for Maryland estates — real property, vehicles, household contents, and comprehensive asset inventories — backed by CPA and CFA designations. We produce documented, defensible valuations that personal representatives can file and explain.

We also handle the property side of an estate: estate management and coordination, cleanouts, repairs, and preparation for sale, and rental management if the estate decides to hold and rent the property rather than sell it.

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This article is general information about the property and valuation side of Maryland estate administration. It is not legal or tax advice, and Bluebeam Property Services is not a law firm. Statutory requirements, forms, and county practice change, and every estate has its own facts. Consult your estate attorney and the Register of Wills in your county regarding your specific obligations as personal representative.