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Maine Estate Planning Basics
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Maine Estate Planning Basics

Maine estate planning basics under Title 18-C: how a will, a revocable trust, a durable power of attorney, and an advance health care directive work together.

By Settled Editorial

Maine estate planning starts with four documents, and here is the direct answer. Most adults need a will that says who inherits and who settles the estate, a durable power of attorney so someone can manage money if you cannot, an advance health care directive that names a medical agent and records your wishes, and, for many families, a revocable living trust that keeps titled assets out of probate. Maine sets the rules for all four in Title 18-C and the Maine Uniform Trust Code at Title 18-B.

Use this page as a planning map, not as legal advice or a fill-in-the-blank kit. Each of these documents hands real authority or moves real property, and one signing slip can undo the intent. When a home, a blended family, a business, or a taxable estate is in play, have a licensed Maine attorney draft or review the plan before you sign.

This guide sits above the Maine document guides it links to. For the process after death, see the Maine probate guide. For who inherits when there is no valid will, see Maine intestate succession.

What Happens If You Skip It

An estate plan is not only for large estates. Here is what Maine law does on your behalf when a document is missing.

  • No will: Maine's intestate succession rules (18-C M.R.S. §2-101 and the sections that follow) decide who inherits. The split among a spouse, children, and other relatives runs on a statutory formula that may not match what you would have chosen. See the Maine intestate succession guide.
  • No power of attorney: If you lose capacity, your family may have to ask a Maine probate court to appoint a conservator to handle your finances. That is public, slower, and costs more than signing a document while you are well.
  • No health care directive: Without a named agent, medical choices fall to a ranked list of relatives under Maine's surrogate rules, and your own wishes may never reach the doctor treating you.
  • No plan for titled assets: Assets in your name alone pass through Maine probate, which means court filings, a public file, and months of administration.

The Documents Every Maine Adult Needs

Four documents carry most of the load. Here is what each one does and where Maine law defines it.

DocumentWhat it doesMaine statute
WillSays who inherits, names a personal representative, nominates a guardian for minor children18-C M.R.S. §2-502
Revocable living trustHolds titled assets and keeps them out of probate, plans for incapacity18-B M.R.S. §602
Durable power of attorneyLets an agent manage your money and property if you cannot18-C M.R.S. §5-905
Advance health care directiveNames a medical agent and records your treatment wishes18-C M.R.S. §5-803

Anyone 18 or older should hold at least a will, a durable power of attorney, and an advance health care directive. You have a stronger reason to add a trust and finer detail if you own a home, have children under 18, run a business, hold sizable retirement accounts, or are in a second marriage with children from a prior relationship.

The Will

Your will is the document that speaks for you in probate. A Maine will tells the court who inherits, names the personal representative who settles the estate (Maine's term, in place of "executor"), and lets you nominate a guardian for your minor children.

Maine will rules live in 18-C M.R.S. §2-502. A witnessed will must be:

  • In writing.
  • Signed by the testator, or signed in the testator's name by another person at the testator's direction and in the testator's conscious presence.
  • Signed by at least two witnesses, each of whom signs within a reasonable time after witnessing the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the will.

Maine also accepts a holographic will, meaning a handwritten one, valid whether or not it is witnessed if the signature and the material portions of the document are in the testator's own handwriting. The person making the will must be at least 18 or a legally emancipated minor and of sound mind (18-C M.R.S. §2-501). For witnesses, notarization, self-proved wills, and the full signing walkthrough, read the Maine will requirements guide.

A will does not do everything. It cannot move property already held in a trust, override a beneficiary form on a retirement account, or transfer jointly owned property that carries survivorship rights. Those pass on their own terms, which is why titling and beneficiary designations matter as much as the will itself.

The Revocable Living Trust

A trust is optional, and a will alone works for many Maine families. A revocable living trust earns its place when you want to keep assets out of probate, want privacy, or want a smooth handoff if you lose capacity. You create it while living, move assets into it, and stay in control the whole time.

Maine runs trusts under the Maine Uniform Trust Code in Title 18-B. Under 18-B M.R.S. §602, a trust is revocable unless its terms expressly say it is irrevocable, so the settlor may revoke or amend a standard living trust at any time. When you die, the successor trustee you named distributes the trust assets under your instructions, outside court supervision.

A trust only works on the assets you actually retitle into it. That step is called funding: you change the deed, account, or title so the trust owns the asset. An unfunded trust controls nothing, and those assets still pass through probate. A revocable trust also does not by itself lower the Maine estate tax, so treat it as a probate and incapacity tool rather than a tax shelter. The dedicated Maine revocable living trust guide walks through funding, naming a successor trustee, and the pour-over will that catches anything left out. To compare a trust against other probate-avoidance moves, see how to avoid probate in Maine.

If a pet is part of your household, Maine lets you fund a Maine pet trust under 18-B M.R.S. §408 to pay for the animal's care and name someone to enforce the arrangement after you die.

The Durable Power of Attorney

A financial power of attorney names an agent to handle your money and property. Maine follows the Uniform Power of Attorney Act at 18-C M.R.S. Article 5, Part 9. Two features stand out.

First, a Maine power of attorney is durable by default under 18-C M.R.S. §5-904, so it survives your later incapacity unless the document says it should end at that point. That is the whole reason to sign one, since a power that dies the moment you lose capacity would leave your family in court.

Second, Maine ties validity to a notary. Under 18-C M.R.S. §5-905, the principal must sign, and the document is not valid unless it is acknowledged before a notary public or another officer authorized to take acknowledgments. Maine requires no witnesses on a financial power of attorney, and a durable one must carry the notices to the principal and to the agent that section 5-905 sets out.

Some powers do not come with a general grant and must be spelled out. Under 18-C M.R.S. §5-931, an agent may make gifts, change a beneficiary designation, create or change rights of survivorship, create or amend a living trust, or change a transfer on death deed only if the document expressly grants that authority. If you want your agent to hold those powers, say so in the document. The full walkthrough is in the Maine power of attorney guide.

The Advance Health Care Directive

Maine folds the medical power of attorney and the living-will-type instruction into one document called an advance health care directive, governed by the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act at 18-C M.R.S. §5-803. There is no separate "living will" statute in Maine. The directive can hold two parts:

  • A power of attorney for health care that names an agent to make medical decisions when you cannot. It must be in writing and signed by the principal and two witnesses, and the statute requires those signatures to be made in person rather than by electronic means.
  • An individual instruction that records your own directions, such as whether to give, withhold, or withdraw life-sustaining treatment. An individual instruction may be oral or written and needs no witnesses, though putting it in writing removes doubt later.

By default, your agent's authority begins only when a physician determines you lack capacity and ends when you recover it, unless the directive says the agent may act right away. Maine also supplies an optional statutory form at 18-C M.R.S. §5-805. If no agent or guardian is available, Maine turns to a ranked list of relatives who may act as surrogate. Read the Maine advance health care directive guide for the witnessing rules, the surrogate ranking, and revocation.

Beneficiary Designations and Titling

Here is the part people miss most often: beneficiary designations and joint titles override your will. If your will leaves your retirement account to one child but the account's beneficiary form names another, the form wins. So the way you title and designate assets is part of the plan, not a detail beside it.

  • Payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts: Bank accounts can name a payable-on-death beneficiary, and brokerage accounts can carry a transfer-on-death registration. The named person collects the balance at your death without probate.
  • Retirement accounts and life insurance: These pass by the beneficiary form on file. Name a first-choice beneficiary and a backup, and refresh both after a marriage, a divorce, or a death in the family.
  • Real property: Maine allows a transfer on death deed under 18-C M.R.S. §6-405. You keep full ownership during life, you can revoke it, and the property passes to your named beneficiary at death without probate. The Maine transfer on death deed guide covers the recording and revocation rules.

Line these designations up with your will and trust so nothing works against your intent. For the full menu of transfers that skip court, see how to avoid probate in Maine.

Planning for Minor Children

If you have children under 18, your will is where you nominate the guardian who would raise them. A Maine probate court makes the final appointment, but a clear nomination in your will carries real weight and spares the family a contested fight during a hard time. Many parents pair the nomination with a trust that manages the children's inheritance until they are older, rather than handing a lump sum to an 18-year-old. The Maine guardianship guide explains how the court handles minor guardianship.

The Maine Estate Tax

Maine is one of the minority of states with its own estate tax, so watch this even if your estate is well under the federal line. Under 36 M.R.S. §4102 and the sections that follow, the Maine estate tax applies to a Maine taxable estate above the state exclusion amount, reported on Form 706ME.

For deaths in 2026 the Maine exclusion is $7,160,000, and the state indexes it for inflation each January 1. The federal exclusion for 2026 sits far higher at $15,000,000, so a Maine estate can owe state estate tax while owing nothing to the IRS. Maine has no separate inheritance tax on what heirs receive. Check the current figure at Maine Revenue Services for the year of death, since the number moves every year.

When to Update Your Plan

Documents drift out of date as life changes. Review your plan every three to five years, and sooner after any of these:

  • A marriage or a divorce.
  • The birth or adoption of a child.
  • The death of a beneficiary, an agent, or your named personal representative.
  • A move to Maine from another state.
  • A large change in what you own, such as buying a home or selling a business.

To change a Maine will, you can sign a codicil that amends it or sign a fresh will that revokes the old one. A new will is usually the cleaner path. After a divorce, revisit every beneficiary form as well, since those forms pass property regardless of what your will says.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a trust if I already have a will?

Not always. A will covers many Maine families on its own. A trust adds value when you want to keep assets out of probate, want privacy, own property in more than one state, or want a clean plan for incapacity. A trust only helps with the assets you actually retitle into it.

Does a Maine power of attorney have to be notarized?

Yes. Under 18-C M.R.S. §5-905, a Maine power of attorney is not valid unless it is acknowledged before a notary public. Maine does not require witnesses on a financial power of attorney.

Is a living will the same as a health care directive in Maine?

Maine uses one advance health care directive that can hold both a health care agent and your own treatment instructions. There is no separate living-will document. The instruction portion does the job a living will does in other states.

Can I disinherit my spouse in Maine?

Not fully through a will alone. A surviving spouse can claim an elective share of the augmented estate under Maine law, so a will or trust cannot cut a spouse out unless the spouse waived that right, usually in a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. See the Maine intestate succession guide for spousal shares.

Will my estate owe Maine estate tax?

Only if your Maine taxable estate is above the state exclusion, which is $7,160,000 for deaths in 2026 and indexed each year. Most estates fall under it and owe no Maine estate tax, but the state figure is far below the federal one, so larger estates should run the numbers with an advisor.

What if my will is later challenged?

The same signing rules that make a will valid become the grounds to contest it when a formality is missed or the testator was pressured. The Maine will contest guide explains who can object and on what basis.

Related Maine Guides

This guide is general information about Maine estate planning. Estate planning turns on facts specific to your family and property, so confirm anything that affects your situation with a licensed Maine attorney before you sign or rely on a document.

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

Prefer to talk it through? Connect with an estate-planning attorney

Settled Estate is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.

Information current as of July 21, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Maine can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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