Maier died without a will. She had no children and no obvious heirs. And under the law, owning a negative is not the same as owning the copyright, which decides who may print and sell the pictures.
In 2014, Cook County's public administrator opened an estate for her and warned sellers of her work about possible copyright infringement. A lawyer tried to have a relative in France recognized as her heir.
Maloof later reached an agreement with the county. Its terms were not made public.