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If you and your partner are not married, Maryland law does not recognise your relationship for inheritance purposes. If one of you dies tomorrow without a plan in place, the surviving partner receives nothing from the deceased partner’s estate, regardless of how many years you have lived together, how much you built together, or what you intended for each other. Under Maryland’s intestate succession statute, found in Maryland Code Estates and Trusts Title 3, an unregistered unmarried couple is treated as strangers in the eyes of the law, and the estate passes to biological relatives in a fixed legal hierarchy that does not include a partner.

The good news is that this gap closes the moment you take one deliberate action, whether that is executing a will, establishing a trust, registering as domestic partners under Maryland’s 2023 law change, or updating the beneficiary designations on your financial accounts. Estate planning for unmarried couples is not complicated, but it is urgent.

This guide covers exactly what the law says, what changed in 2023, the two protection paths available, and the specific steps T-Bridge Finance LLC takes with Maryland clients to close every remaining gap.

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What Maryland Law Actually Says About Unmarried Couples and Inheritance

Maryland’s intestate succession law follows a strict legal hierarchy when a person dies without a valid will or trust. The estate passes first to a surviving spouse, then to children, then to parents, then to siblings, and then to more distant relatives. If no legally recognised heir can be located, the estate eventually escheats to the state itself.

Unmarried couples appear nowhere in that hierarchy. Maryland does not recognise common-law marriage, which means a couple that has lived together for 20 years, shared every bill, and raised children together is treated identically to two strangers when it comes to inheritance. The surviving partner has no legal claim to the home they shared, the savings they built together, or the retirement accounts funded over decades of joint sacrifice.

According to an analysis published by the University of Baltimore Law Forum, close to 49 percent of the 28,556 Maryland probate estates opened in fiscal year 2023 were intestate, meaning nearly half of all Marylanders who died left no will to override the state’s default rules. For unmarried couples inside that 49 percent, the default outcome was that the surviving partner received nothing.

This is not a uniquely Maryland problem. The vast majority of states across the United States operate on the same principle: legal inheritance rights flow through formal legal relationships, specifically marriage and biological or adopted kinship, rather than through the depth or duration of a partnership. Estate planning for unmarried couples is a national concern, and the need to take deliberate action exists regardless of which state you call home.

The 2023 Maryland Law Change That Most Unmarried Couples Still Do Not Know About

Maryland took a meaningful step forward on October 1, 2023, when Senate Bill 792 created a formal framework for Registered Domestic Partnerships. For the first time in Maryland history, unmarried couples gained the ability to register their relationship with the state and receive inheritance protections similar to those afforded to married spouses.

Under this law, a surviving registered domestic partner inherits in the same manner as a surviving spouse when no will exists. Depending on the family structure, that can mean receiving the entire estate, or receiving a share alongside descendants. The registered partner also qualifies for a $10,000 family allowance and gains priority to serve as the personal representative of the deceased partner’s estate, rather than being forced to watch a family member assume that role. Perhaps most significantly for couples with meaningful assets, registered domestic partners are fully exempt from Maryland’s 10 percent inheritance tax, the same exemption granted to spouses.

Beginning October 1, 2025, Maryland added new procedural requirements to the registration process. Couples who registered before that date, or who are now considering registration, should verify their status meets the current criteria by speaking with an estate planning professional.

One critical limitation remains even after registration: the elective share right, which protects a surviving spouse from being intentionally disinherited under Maryland Code Estates and Trusts Section 3-203, applies only to married spouses and not to registered domestic partners. Registration provides a strong baseline, but it does not replicate every protection that marriage carries. A complete estate plan remains essential even for couples who do register.

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What T-Bridge Finance LLC Consistently Sees Among Maryland Couples Who Delay Planning

What T-Bridge Finance LLC and Dr. Taiwo Akindahunsi observe consistently across conversations with clients in Anne Arundel County and the broader Maryland market is a specific and avoidable pattern: unmarried couples who have done everything right on the financial side, building savings, acquiring property, and securing life insurance, but who have never taken the additional step of aligning their legal documents with that financial reality.

The financial architecture and the legal architecture of a couple’s life are built in separate systems and rarely communicate with each other without deliberate intervention. A couple may hold joint bank accounts, split mortgage payments evenly, and list each other on employer benefit forms, while still carrying retirement accounts with a parent or sibling listed as beneficiary from a decade ago, and while still having no will directing any part of the estate to the surviving partner if they die without warning.

When Dr. Taiwo Akindahunsi conducts a beneficiary designation audit with a new couple as part of the estate planning intake process, the number of outdated designations that surface in that first conversation is consistently striking. This is not a knowledge problem alone, it is an action gap. Most unmarried couples understand in general terms that they should have a plan. What they do not fully reckon with is how quickly the gap between “we intend to do this” and “one of us has died without a plan” can close.

The Two Protection Paths Available to Unmarried Couples in Maryland

Unmarried couples who want to protect each other in Maryland have two primary mechanisms available. The first is formal registration as domestic partners under the 2023 Senate Bill 792 framework. The second is the construction of a private, custom estate plan. Both are legitimate paths, and both require deliberate action from the couple. The right choice depends on the couple’s goals, the complexity of their assets, and whether they want maximum control over how their estate is distributed.

Path One: Maryland Registered Domestic Partnership Registration

Registering as domestic partners in Maryland requires both individuals to be at least 18 years old, to be in a committed relationship with each other, and to be neither married to nor registered with any other person. The process is straightforward: both partners sign a Declaration of Domestic Partnership and file it with the Register of Wills in the county where they reside. The filing is low-cost and takes effect quickly.

Once registered, the couple gains spousal-equivalent intestacy rights, the $10,000 family allowance, and the inheritance tax exemption. For couples who have no existing estate plan documents, registration is the fastest way to establish baseline protection. It does not, however, provide any mechanism for directing specific assets, granting medical decision authority, or managing financial affairs during incapacity. Registration is a floor, not a ceiling, and it should not be treated as a substitute for a full estate plan.

Path Two: A Custom Estate Plan Tailored to Your Relationship and Assets

A custom estate plan for unmarried couples typically coordinates five documents that each serve a distinct purpose.

The first is a Last Will and Testament, which names the surviving partner as the primary beneficiary of the probate estate and designates them as the executor who manages the administration process.

The second is a Revocable Living Trust, which allows assets held inside the trust to pass directly to the surviving partner outside of probate, avoiding both court-supervised delays and the public disclosure of the estate’s contents.

The third is a Durable Power of Attorney, which grants the partner legal authority to manage financial affairs if the other becomes incapacitated and cannot act for themselves.

The fourth is an Advance Medical Directive, sometimes called a healthcare proxy or healthcare power of attorney, which names the partner as the person authorised to make medical decisions.

The fifth is a thorough review and update of all beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and payable-on-death bank accounts.

These five documents work as a coordinated system, and each one closes a gap that the others cannot address. A will alone does not cover non-probate assets. Beneficiary designations alone do not cover physical property or investment accounts without designated recipients. A trust alone does not grant medical decision authority. The full system, implemented together, provides the kind of comprehensive protection that unmarried couples need but rarely receive from any single document or registration step.

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The Maryland Inheritance Tax Problem That Quietly Costs Unmarried Couples Thousands of Dollars

Maryland is one of the few states in the country that imposes both a state estate tax and a separate inheritance tax. The Maryland inheritance tax applies at a rate of 10 percent to property passing to anyone who does not fall into the exempt categories of spouse, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, or sibling. An unregistered unmarried partner is none of those things.

This means that if one partner leaves $400,000 to the surviving partner through a will, the surviving partner owes $40,000 to the state of Maryland before receiving a cent. At $800,000, the tax exposure reaches $80,000. At $1,200,000, it reaches $120,000. These are not abstract edge-case figures for the clients T-Bridge Finance LLC serves across the Maryland market, and they represent a preventable financial loss that most unmarried couples are entirely unaware of until it is too late.

There are two practical solutions, the first is Registered Domestic Partnership registration, which grants the surviving partner the same inheritance tax exemption as a spouse and brings the tax liability to zero on assets passing through the probate estate.

The second is structuring the estate so that assets pass through vehicles that are not subject to Maryland inheritance tax at all. Life insurance proceeds paid to a named beneficiary pass outside the taxable estate entirely. Retirement account distributions to a named beneficiary also pass outside the inheritance tax calculation. Jointly titled property held as joint tenants with right of survivorship transfers automatically to the surviving partner without going through probate and without generating an inheritance tax obligation.

Maryland’s estate tax, by contrast, applies only to estates valued above $5 million, so it is not the primary concern for most couples building wealth in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. The inheritance tax is the more immediate and more commonly overlooked risk, and it is the one that proper estate planning for unmarried couples can eliminate entirely.

What Happens to Your House If You Own It Together But Are Not Married

Property ownership is where the stakes of not planning become most concrete for unmarried couples. Two people can share a mortgage, divide every payment, and spend years building equity together, yet the way the deed is titled determines entirely who keeps the house when one of them dies.

Maryland defaults to a form of co-ownership called tenancy in common when property is purchased jointly by two unmarried individuals. Under tenancy in common, each partner owns a percentage share of the property, and that share passes through their estate at death. Without a will directing that share to the surviving partner, Maryland intestacy law sends it to the deceased partner’s biological relatives in order of priority. The surviving partner could find themselves co-owning a home with their late partner’s parents or siblings, with no legal mechanism to force a buyout or a transfer.

The solution is to retitle the property as joint tenants with right of survivorship. Under this structure, the surviving partner automatically and immediately inherits the full property the moment the other partner dies, with no probate process required and no legal opening for the deceased’s family to claim a share. Changing the titling structure requires executing a new deed, which a real estate attorney or estate planning attorney can facilitate for a cost that is modest compared to the protection it creates.

For unmarried couples who already own property together, this is often the most impactful single action available, and it can be completed independently of a full estate plan, though it works best as part of one. Dr. Taiwo Akindahunsi and the T-Bridge Finance LLC team routinely identify joint property titling as one of the first items to address in any estate planning engagement involving cohabiting couples.

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How T-Bridge Finance LLC Approaches Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples in Maryland and Beyond

T-Bridge Finance LLC, founded by Dr. Taiwo Akindahunsi and serving clients across Anne Arundel County, Maryland, and beyond, approaches estate planning for unmarried couples as a coordinated process rather than a document-by-document transaction. Every engagement begins with a structured review of the couple’s current legal and financial picture: property titles, beneficiary designations across all accounts and policies, existing legal documents if any, insurance coverage, and the specific gap between what the law would currently do with their estate and what they actually want to happen.

From that review, Dr. Taiwo Akindahunsi and the T-Bridge Finance LLC team develop a sequenced action plan. Beneficiary designation updates typically come first because they are free to execute through financial institutions, take effect immediately, and produce the largest immediate impact relative to the time invested.

Deed review and potential retitling come next if property is part of the picture. The core legal documents, will, revocable living trust, durable power of attorney, and healthcare directive, follow as the structural layer of the plan. Where Registered Domestic Partnership registration makes sense given the couple’s goals, T-Bridge Finance LLC provides guidance on how that step fits into or supplements the broader planning framework.

T-Bridge Finance LLC also serves a significant number of diaspora investors and high-income professionals whose estate planning needs extend beyond a standard template, including cross-border asset considerations, blended family structures, and coordination between Maryland law and the laws of other states or countries. Estate planning for unmarried couples in these contexts involves a level of coordination that online tools and generic document services cannot address.

Schedule Your Estate Planning Review With T-Bridge Finance LLC

If you and your partner are not married, the right time to act is now and not after the wedding, not after the next property purchase, and not after a health scare forces the conversation. Updating a beneficiary designation takes under 30 minutes at your financial institution. Retitling a property deed requires a single document, and a comprehensive estate plan from T-Bridge Finance LLC, built around your specific relationship and asset structure, can close every remaining legal gap through a single coordinated engagement.

Reach out to T-Bridge Finance LLC to schedule a no-obligation estate planning review with Dr. Taiwo Akindahunsi. The conversation is direct, the resulting action plan is clear, and the protection it creates begins immediately.

About the Author

Maxwell is a financial content strategist at T-Bridge Finance LLC, a financial services firm based in Bowie, Maryland. All articles published on this blog are reviewed by the licensed PROFESSIONALS at T-Bridge Finance LLC before publication to ensure accuracy and compliance with current insurance and financial guidelines. T-Bridge Finance LLC holds active insurance licenses and serves families across the United States with life insurance, estate planning, college funding, and tax-advantaged wealth strategies. schedule a free consultation.

FAQ

1. Do unmarried couples have any inheritance rights in Maryland?

Unregistered unmarried couples have no automatic inheritance rights under Maryland intestate succession law, regardless of how long they have lived together or how financially intertwined their lives are. The only exceptions are assets with current beneficiary designations and property titled as joint tenants with right of survivorship, both of which pass outside the probate estate. Since October 1, 2023, unmarried couples who file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership under Maryland Senate Bill 792 gain spousal-equivalent intestacy rights, including exemption from the 10 percent inheritance tax.

2. Does Maryland recognise common-law marriage for inheritance purposes?

No. Maryland does not recognise common-law marriage under any circumstances. A couple that has lived together for decades, shared finances, and held themselves out publicly as married has no legal marriage under Maryland law and receives no marital inheritance rights. This distinguishes Maryland from states such as Colorado, Texas, and Kansas, which do recognise common-law marriage under defined conditions. Unmarried couples in Maryland must take deliberate legal action to create inheritance rights for each other.

3. What is the Maryland inheritance tax rate for an unmarried partner?

Maryland imposes a 10 percent inheritance tax on property passing to anyone outside the exempt categories of spouse, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, or sibling. An unregistered unmarried partner who inherits $300,000 through a will owes $30,000 in Maryland inheritance tax before receiving the funds. Registered domestic partners are fully exempt from this tax. Assets passing via beneficiary designation, including life insurance proceeds and retirement account distributions, are not subject to Maryland inheritance tax, which makes beneficiary designation management one of the most tax-efficient estate planning tools available to unmarried couples.

4. What happens to a jointly owned home when one unmarried partner dies without a will in Maryland?

The outcome depends entirely on how the deed is titled. If the property is held as joint tenants with right of survivorship, the surviving partner automatically inherits the full property outside of probate, with no opening for the deceased’s family to contest. If the property is held as tenants in common, which Maryland defaults to for unmarried co-owners, the deceased partner’s share passes through the estate and follows intestacy law, potentially transferring to parents or siblings rather than the surviving partner. Retitling from tenants in common to joint tenants with right of survivorship is one of the most impactful single estate planning actions available to unmarried couples who already own property together.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or insurance advice. Life insurance and financial products vary by carrier, state of residence, age, health profile, and individual circumstances. Past index performance does not guarantee future results. Cash value illustrations referenced in this article are hypothetical projections and not a guarantee of policy performance. T-Bridge Finance LLC is a licensed financial services firm operating in the United States. Please consult a licensed financial advisor or insurance professional before making any insurance or financial planning decisions. To speak with our team, contact us here.