Filing Maryland Form RW1124: Joint Property, Transfers, and Interests

Maryland Form RW1124, the Information Report, is the document a personal representative files with the Register of Wills to disclose property that passed outside probate but may still owe Maryland inheritance tax. It is due within three months of your appointment and asks four questions about jointly owned property, out-of-state real estate, pre-death transfers, and interests the decedent held that were less than outright ownership. Every “yes” answer requires a detail table naming the recipient, describing the property, and stating its value.1Maryland Register of Wills. Maryland Register of Wills Form RW1124 – Information Report

You can download the current PDF from the Maryland Register of Wills website under “General Probate Forms.”2Maryland Register of Wills. Forms – Register of Wills The version in circulation is dated January 2016; confirm you have the most recent revision before filing.

What the Form Is Asking About

RW1124 targets assets that never entered the probate estate. It sits alongside the inventory forms (RW1122 and RW1123), which catalog what the decedent owned in their name alone. The Information Report covers what sat outside that boundary but may still be taxable in Maryland.

Throughout the form, an important exclusion runs in the background: interests passing to people exempt from Maryland inheritance tax under Tax-General Article §7-203 do not need to be reported. Close family members — spouse, child, parent, grandchild, sibling — generally qualify, but verify the current list in the statute before deciding a transfer is exempt.

The four questions cover:

  • Jointly owned Maryland property, including real estate, leaseholds, bank and credit union accounts, and other personal property (Section 1.a).
  • Out-of-state real estate or leasehold interests, held outright or as a tenant in common (Section 1.b).
  • Transfers made within two years before death that amounted to a final disposition of a material part of the decedent’s property, including those creating joint ownership (Section 2). Bona fide sales at fair market value are excluded.
  • Interests less than absolute — payable-on-death accounts, annuities, pensions and other benefit plans, life estates, term-of-years interests, and trust interests where the decedent kept some control while alive (Section 3).

Who Files and When

The personal representative of a regular estate files RW1124. Regular estates are those with probate assets over $50,000 in gross value, or over $100,000 when the surviving spouse is the sole heir or legatee.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Estates and Trusts 5-601 The deadline is three months from the date of your appointment, not three months from the date of death.

Missing the three-month deadline does not carry an automatic penalty, but it stalls the Register’s inheritance tax determination and delays estate closure. If tracking down values for out-of-state real estate or complex trust interests will take longer, contact the Register of Wills office in your county before the deadline runs.

Completing the Header

Enter the decedent’s full legal name after “IN THE ESTATE OF” and the date of death in the field provided. Check whether the estate is proceeding with or without a will.1Maryland Register of Wills. Maryland Register of Wills Form RW1124 – Information Report

Fill in the jurisdiction line — “BEFORE THE REGISTER OF WILLS FOR” followed by the county or Baltimore City where the estate was opened — and enter the estate number assigned when the Petition for Administration was filed. If you don’t have that number handy, check your Letters of Administration or call the Register’s office where you opened the estate.

Section 1: Joint and Out-of-State Property

Section 1.a asks whether the decedent held any interest as a joint owner in Maryland real estate, leasehold property, or personal property, including bank and credit union accounts. Assets co-owned with someone exempt under §7-203 do not have to be listed.

For each qualifying jointly owned asset, provide the joint owner’s name, address, and relationship to the decedent, describe the property (for example, “savings account at XYZ Bank” or “residential property at 123 Main Street”), and report the total value of the asset. Report the full value, not just the decedent’s share. The Register’s office uses the total as the starting point for calculating any tax owed by the surviving joint owner. A jointly held brokerage account worth $500,000 goes on the form at $500,000, not $250,000.

Section 1.b asks about real estate or leaseholds outside Maryland that the decedent owned individually or as a tenant in common. For each property, list the address and description, and indicate whether any court proceeding has been started elsewhere regarding that property, including the case number and court location. Out-of-state real estate often requires ancillary probate in the state where it sits, which is why this question exists.

Section 2: Transfers Within Two Years of Death

Section 2 asks whether the decedent, within two years before death, transferred a material part of their property in a way that amounted to a final disposition — including transfers that created joint ownership. Bona fide sales at fair market value are excluded, as are transfers to persons exempt under §7-203.

For each qualifying transfer, list the recipient’s name, address, and relationship to the decedent, describe what was transferred, and provide the total value. The form does not define “material part” precisely, so err on the side of disclosure. Report any significant gift or transfer and let the Register’s office decide whether inheritance tax applies.

Section 3: Interests Less Than Absolute

Section 3 is the broadest question on the form and the one people miss most often. It covers assets where the decedent held something other than full, outright ownership at death, when the interest passes to someone not exempt under §7-203. Four subcategories fall inside it:

  • Property the decedent controlled during life but was structured to pass outside probate. Payable-on-death bank accounts are the most common example.
  • Annuities and public or private pension, retirement, or employee benefit plans with a named beneficiary.
  • Life estates and term-of-years interests, where the decedent’s right to use the property ended at death and the property passed to a remainder beneficiary.
  • Trust interests, retained income interests, and any other arrangement in which the decedent’s property interest was short of outright ownership.

For each reported interest, list the date and type of instrument that created it (such as “revocable trust dated March 5, 2018” or “POD designation on savings account”), the successor or beneficiary’s name, address, and relationship to the decedent, the transfer date, and the value or amount. Retirement accounts and pensions should reflect the account balance or present value as of the date of death.

POD accounts get skipped more than any other item on this form. Because they transfer automatically to the named beneficiary and never touch probate, personal representatives assume they don’t belong on any probate paperwork. They belong here, because the beneficiary may owe inheritance tax if they are not exempt under §7-203.

Signing and Filing

Once all four questions are answered — “No” checked where nothing needs to be reported, detail tables filled in for every “Yes” — the personal representative signs the affirmation at the bottom: “I solemnly affirm under the penalties of perjury that the contents of this document are true to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.” The attorney for the estate also signs and provides contact information.

File the completed form with the Register of Wills in the county where the estate was opened. There is no separate filing fee for the Information Report; probate fees are assessed on the total value of the probate estate and paid when the estate is opened.4Maryland Register of Wills. Probate and Other Fees – Maryland Register of Wills

What Happens After You File

If the Register’s office identifies reportable assets on RW1124 that are subject to inheritance tax, the next form is usually RW1125, the Application to Fix Inheritance Tax on Non-Probate Assets, which calculates and settles the tax owed on the interests you disclosed.

Note the boundary between this form and the inventory. RW1122 and RW1123 catalog probate assets, which are things titled in the decedent’s name alone that pass through the estate. RW1124 covers what sat outside probate but may still owe Maryland inheritance tax. Personal representatives frequently confuse the two, listing joint accounts on the inventory or leaving POD accounts off both. Assets belong on one form or the other based on how they were titled at death.

Errors That Get the Form Returned

The most common problem is leaving a section blank instead of checking “No.” Every question requires an affirmative response. A blank field reads as an oversight, and the Register’s office may return the form for completion rather than treat the omission as a negative answer.

Undervaluing jointly owned property is the next most common issue. The form asks for total value, and the Register uses that figure as the starting point for determining the taxable portion. Reporting only the decedent’s share creates a mismatch the office has to resolve before the tax determination can proceed.

The other recurring issue is scope. Section 3 catches more than people expect. If the decedent held a life estate, was the income beneficiary of a trust, or named a non-exempt beneficiary on a retirement account or POD account, that interest belongs on the form even though nothing about it passes through the probate estate.