Maine Exempt Property Allowance

Which property counts

The allowance covers tangible personal property, including household goods, vehicles and personal effects. Value is measured after security interests. Other estate assets can fill a shortfall when available. The exemption does not transfer ownership of a house. The separate Maine surviving-spouse guide explains the related housing rules.

How property is selected

Section 2-405 describes selection by the spouse, adult children or guardians, and when the personal representative may select property. If the estate is otherwise sufficient, property left as a specific gift in the will cannot fund homestead and exempt-property rights. A distribution instrument can document ownership. An interested person aggrieved by a selection, payment or failure to act may seek court relief. 18-C M.R.S. 2-405.

Where it sits among estate expenses

The allowance has protections against creditors, with statutory exceptions. Section 3-805 places administration costs and reasonable funeral expenses first, then homestead allowance, family allowance and exempt property. The separate section 2-403 rule also addresses shortfalls and abatement. The Maine debt-payment guide explains the broader payment order. 18-C M.R.S. 3-805.

The date that controls the figure

Section 1-108 adjusts specified probate amounts for inflation using the calendar year before death. An estate opened this year may concern an earlier death. Its allowance amount uses the corresponding year-of-death table. The statute's printed $15,000 is the unadjusted amount. 18-C M.R.S. 1-108.

The Maine surviving-spouse guide covers the other protections. A probate attorney can assess how the will, assets and family circumstances affect an individual estate.

Work out the value that counts

The exemption concerns value in qualifying personal property after security interests. An inventory value alone may leave part of the question unanswered. A vehicle can have a market value and an outstanding secured loan. Household goods may have no associated security interest. The statutory description requires those interests to be considered when the allowance is measured. It does not turn every item in an estate into exempt property or transfer the family home through this allowance. 18-C M.R.S. 2-403.

When qualifying personal property falls below the applicable allowance, section 2-403 provides for other estate assets to make up the difference if those assets are available. That qualification matters in an estate with few assets. A stated allowance and an estate's ability to satisfy it are separate questions. A reader comparing the inventory with the allowance needs both the net value of the selected property and the estate assets available for any shortfall. The provision does not promise a cash payment from assets that the estate does not have.

Read the will alongside the selection

An allowance claim and a gift in a will can concern the same person without being the same benefit. Section 2-403 addresses an express will provision substituting a benefit for the exemption. It also addresses express exclusion of an adult child. A reader needs the wording of the actual will to assess whether either qualification is relevant. The presence of a gift to a spouse or child, by itself, does not answer that question. The statutory exceptions remain part of the entitlement described on this page.

Section 2-405 adds another limit when choosing assets: if the estate is otherwise sufficient, property left as a specific gift in the will cannot be used to satisfy the homestead or exempt-property allowance. The rule concerns which property can be selected. It should be considered separately from the question of how much exempt-property value the applicable year's allowance permits. Keeping those questions separate helps explain why an estate's total value does not, by itself, settle a proposed selection. 18-C M.R.S. 2-405.

Keep a record of the proposed distribution

A useful record can identify each item, its stated value, any security interest, the person entitled to select it and the proposed recipient. The date of death and the corresponding adjustment table belong with that record. If other estate assets would make up a shortfall, identifying those assets makes the proposal easier to understand. These are ways to organize the facts behind the statutory questions; local filing and valuation requirements need separate checking.

The personal representative's ability to select property in the circumstances described by section 2-405 does not eliminate the statute's court-relief provision. An interested person aggrieved by a selection, payment or failure to act may petition for appropriate relief. That provision gives a route for a disputed determination to be considered. It does not mean that a particular objection will succeed or that the court must approve a proposed distribution.

An estate with insufficient assets also needs the rules about priority and abatement. The order in section 3-805 and the qualifications in section 2-403 address different parts of that problem. The first organizes classes of estate claims; the second includes rules about the allowance and a shortfall. A distribution question involving both provisions needs both readings, together with the estate's assets and claims. 18-C M.R.S. 3-805.

Settled Estate is not a law firm. This page provides legal information. It is not legal advice.