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What Real Estate Agents Need to Know About Heir Property and Maryland’s New Tax Sale Protections

You’ve seen it before. A family reaches out wanting to sell a home that belonged to a parent or grandparent who passed away years ago. The family has been living there, paying the bills, maintaining the yard. But when you pull the property records, the deed is still in the name of someone who died in 2003. Welcome to the world of heir property, and it’s more common than most agents realize.

Heir property is real estate that passes from one generation to the next without ever going through the formal legal process of transferring the deed. When a homeowner dies without a will, or when a family simply never goes through probate, the home doesn’t automatically transfer into the names of the surviving family members. Instead, it exists in a kind of legal gray zone, the family lives there and considers it “theirs,” but the title is still tied to someone who is no longer living.

The legal term for this situation is a “tangled title,” and it creates serious complications. Without a clear deed in their names, families cannot sell the home, refinance the property, or create an effective estate plan. Many programs designed to support lower-income homeowners, such as property tax credits and major home repair assistance are only available to individuals whose names are on the deed.

For real estate agents, a tangled title also means you can’t simply list and sell the property. Before any sale can happen, the estate must be opened, heirs identified, and the deed legally transferred. This process can take months and cost money families often don’t have readily available.

Here’s where things can go seriously wrong. Because the property tax bill is still generated in the deceased owner’s name, heirs sometimes don’t receive it or don’t realize they’re responsible for it. In Maryland, unpaid property taxes can eventually lead to the property being sold at a tax sale, potentially causing the family to lose a home they’ve lived in for generations over a relatively small debt.

The good news is that Maryland took meaningful action effective January 1, 2026. Under HB 0059, counties must now withhold certain owner-occupied homes and properties lived in by heirs from tax sale. The law also creates a registry that lets families formally flag their properties for protection. Additionally, the law expands notice requirements and gives families more time to resolve tax debts before a sale can occur.

When you encounter a property where the deed hasn’t been updated after an owner’s death, don’t just flag it as a title issue and move on. Encourage the family to consult with a real estate attorney promptly. The new registry means families can proactively protect themselves but only if they know it exists.

Heir property situations also present a real opportunity to serve clients well. Families in this position often need guidance, patience, and a team of professionals working together. Connecting them with the right attorney early in the process can be the difference between a smooth sale, a years-long ordeal or worse, the loss of a family home.

About the author (drafted with the assistance of AI): Erin August is an Attorney in the Real Estate Department at Shulman Rogers, P.A. She was born in Washington, DC and raised in Montgomery County, Maryland, where she resides with her husband and son.

About Shulman Rogers
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