Q: To avoid taxing on a coin collection worth thousands, it's prob best to avoid the appraisal process and divide
the collection among beneficiaries in the meantime UNLESS an heir believes the collection wouldn't be appraised appropriately all together at a later date after regular Estate is closed
A:
This appears like a conclusion rather than a question. However, to the extent this is a question asking whether a Personal Representative can/should avoid appraising an asset to avoid tax, that would be a very ill-advised course of action. A Personal Representative has an obligation to appraise everything in the probate estate.
Maryland has both an Estate tax and an Inheritance tax. Estate Tax does not apply until the value is above $5 Million, so a coin collection worth thousands of dollars (or even hundreds of thousands of dollars) would not involve estate tax unless the entire estate was over the $5M threshold. Whether or not an inheritance tax will be charged in Maryland depends on the relationship of the receiver to the person who died. If the people to inherit are all children / grandchildren there would be no inheritance tax in this state. If the beneficiaries are distant relatives they or unrelated to the person who died they would typically be subject to inheritance tax (whether the property passes through the probate estate or outside it).
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