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MORTL → State Guides → Maine
State Guide
What Maine law actually says about death, probate, cremation, advance directives, and estate taxes. No legal jargon. Just what you need to know.
Someone just died in Maine? The first 24 hours, step by step →
Guide Status
● Last reviewed August 2026
Laws change. Each section shows when it was last verified. Always confirm with a licensed Maine attorney for your specific situation.
This is general information, not legal advice. Maine law changes. Your situation is specific. For anything that matters, talk to a licensed Maine attorney. Our directory doesn't list attorneys, so you'll find one on your own.
The short answer
In Maine, estates under $52,500 can skip full probate through a simplified process or affidavit. Cremation has no statutory waiting period. Maine has its own estate tax on estates over $7.16 million. Every figure below names its source and the date it was checked.
Reviewed August 2026 · Maine
Someone just died in Maine: the first 24 hours →Verified providers in Maine →
Last verified: August 7, 2026
Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, §2842 ↗At a Glance
File within 5 days · Restricted for 25 years · Then public
A certificate of each death that occurs in this State must be filed with the State Registrar of Vital Statistics or clerk of the municipality where death occurred within a reasonable period of time, as specified by department rule, after the day on which death occurred and before the removal of the body from the State. The funeral director or other authorized person in charge of the disposition of the dead human body or its removal from the State is responsible for filing the certificate. The medical certification of the cause of death must be completed and signed in a timely manner, as specified by department rule, by a physician, nurse practitioner or physician associate authorized to practice in the State who has knowledge of the patient's recent medical condition, except when the death falls under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner.
Ask each bank, insurer, court, agency, and property office whether it requires a certified copy. Order an initial quantity based on those actual needs, and confirm the current fee and process for ordering more.
Maine law limits access to certified vital records to individuals named on the record, their spouse, registered domestic partner, direct descendants, parents, grandparents, or legal representatives.
Order certified copies from Maine's vital records office; this section's source link is the official process. The funeral home or cremation provider usually orders the first copies for you. Ask each bank, insurer, court, and agency whether it needs its own certified copy before you decide how many to order.
$15 per certified copy in Maine, as shown above. Additional-copy pricing varies; the official source linked in this section has the current fee schedule.
Last verified: August 9, 2026
Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 18-C, §§ 3-108, 3-1201 ↗At a Glance
Small estate threshold vs. national average
In Maine, a successor can collect the decedent's personal property by affidavit, with no personal representative appointed, if the entire estate less liens and encumbrances comes to no more than $52,500 for a death in 2026. The statute prints $40,000 and § 1-108 indexes it to the CPI, so the number moves every year, and each county probate court has to publish the current figure on its website. Thirty days have to pass after the death, and no application for a personal representative can be pending or granted. Estates above the figure, or with disputes, go through formal probate.
Probate in Maine typically takes 6 months to a year, but can extend longer for complex estates. There's an ultimate time limit of 3 years from the date of death for most proceedings.
If a person dies in Maine without a valid will, their assets are distributed according to the state's intestate succession laws (18-C MRS, Article 2).
Common strategies to avoid probate in Maine include establishing a revocable living trust, designating beneficiaries on accounts (e.g., bank accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance), holding property in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or using transfer-on-death (TOD) or payable-on-death (POD) designations for certain assets.
A straightforward Maine probate typically runs 6-12 mo, as shown in this section. Contested wills, missing heirs, or real property in other states stretch it well past that.
$52,500. Estates under that figure can use the simplified process or affidavit covered above instead of full probate.
Not always. If the estate qualifies for the simplified process covered above, many people handle it without a lawyer. Hire one for full probate, a contested will, or property in more than one state. Before you hire anyone, know the fee structures: hourly, flat, and (in a few states) statutory percentages. Our probate attorney cost guide covers what each should run you.
No will yet, or one that's out of date? How to write a will covers what belongs in one and the signing requirements, step by step. The rules on this page are what Maine law adds.
Yes. Maine authorizes the transfer on death deed under 18-C M.R.S. §§ 6-401 to 6-421 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act). Record it while you’re alive and the property passes to your named beneficiary at death, outside probate, revocable any time before then. Maine adopted the uniform act in its Probate Code (Title 18-C, Article 6, Part 4); a recorded, notarized TOD deed passes real estate outside probate and is revocable until death.
Source: 18-C M.R.S. §§ 6-401 to 6-421 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act) ↗
Maine is one of nine states that require a private employer to give bereavement leave. The limits matter as much as the entitlement.
Who it covers. Private employers with 15 or more employees at one location in Maine (the State as employer, and municipalities with 25 or more employees, are also covered). The employee must have worked for the same employer for 12 consecutive months. Qualifying deaths are limited to a spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling or child who died while on active duty in the state military forces or the US Armed Forces, including National Guard and Reserves.
How much. Up to 10 work weeks in any 2 years, shared with every other family medical leave reason under the same law.
Paid or unpaid. Unpaid as a matter of right. 26 M.R.S. § 844(2) says family medical leave granted under the subchapter may consist of unpaid leave. Since Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave benefits opened, § 850-B(2)(F) makes a covered individual eligible for family leave for "[a]ny other reason set forth in section 843, subsection 4," which pulls this death trigger into the paid program.
Be precise with readers about how small this is. Maine does not have general bereavement leave. A grandparent, an in-law, a friend, or a parent who died of cancer at home gets nothing under this section. The trigger is a service member's death on active duty, and nothing else. What actually helps most grieving Mainers is a different law: Maine's earned paid leave statute, 26 M.R.S. § 637, requires employers with more than 10 employees in Maine for more than 120 days in a calendar year to let workers accrue 1 hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year, usable "for any reason such as an emergency, illness, sudden necessity, planned vacation," per the Maine Department of Labor Employee Rights Guide (https://www.maine.gov/labor/labor_laws/employeerightsguide/). A death in the family is a sudden necessity, so those 40 paid hours are the real bereavement floor in Maine. Maine has no separate pregnancy-loss leave provision.
Source: 26 M.R.S. § 843(4)(F) and § 844 (Maine Family Medical Leave Requirements) ↗
Yes. Maine enforces pet trusts under 18-B M.R.S. § 408, so money you set aside for an animal is legally binding on whoever you put in charge of it. The trust ends when your animal dies, or when the last of them dies if you covered more than one, and Maine sets no year limit on it. Whoever you name in the trust enforces it, and if you name nobody a court appoints someone. Anyone who cares about your animal can also ask the court to appoint an enforcer or to remove one who isn't doing the job. A judge can cut the amount back if it holds more than your animal's care requires. Unless your trust says where the extra should go, it goes to you if you're living, and otherwise to whoever inherits from you. Maine covers an animal that was alive at some point during your life, so a pet someone takes in after you die isn't part of the same trust. Write the caretaker and a backup into the trust; Maine's statute won't choose either one for you.
Last verified: July 17, 2026
Source: Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 18-C, §§ 2-101 to 2-114 ↗If you die intestate (without a valid will) in Maine, Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 18-C, §§ 2-101 to 2-114 decides who inherits everything a will would have covered. The shares depend on exactly who survives you: spouse, children, parents, siblings. What you told people you wanted doesn't matter. Only a signed will changes these defaults.
Maine cut the blended-family share to a flat half with no dollar amount, unlike most UPC states. Its heir list runs further than most: to great-grandparents' descendants and then stepchildren, and crime-victim restitution the decedent received goes to the Elder Victims Restitution Fund instead of the general escheat.
What your spouse inherits depends on who else survives you. The dollar amounts printed in § 2-102 are $300,000 and $100,000, but 18-C § 1-108 indexes them to the Consumer Price Index, so the figures below are the 2026 amounts the Maine Probate Courts publish. They move every year. The four common family shapes:
The descendants take everything per capita at each generation: equal shares at the closest generation with survivors, with lower generations splitting what's left equally.
With no spouse or descendants, the estate goes to parents, then to parents' descendants, then half to each of the paternal and maternal grandparents' lines, then to great-grandparents and their descendants, then to descendants of a deceased spouse (stepchildren), and only then to the State of Maine (§ 2-105).
Last verified: August 7, 2026
Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 18-C, §5-803 ↗At a Glance
Living Will
Specifies end-of-life care wishes
Healthcare Proxy
Names a decision-maker for you
DNR / POLST
Do-not-resuscitate orders
In Maine, an advance directive must be in writing, signed by the declarant, and witnessed by two adults. Neither witness can be the agent, an heir, or directly involved in the declarant's healthcare. Notarization isn't required but recommended. The Maine Hospital Association provides a standard form that's widely used.
Discuss your advance directives with your family and healthcare providers so your wishes are known and respected.
A healthcare power of attorney (HCPOA) in Maine allows you to appoint an agent to make medical decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. This can be a standalone document or part of a comprehensive advance directive. The agent's authority typically begins when a physician determines you lack the capacity to make your own decisions.
Maine recognizes Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms. A POLST is a medical order signed by a healthcare professional and the patient (or their surrogate) that specifies medical treatments the patient wishes to receive or avoid. It's for individuals with serious illnesses and complements an advance directive, but isn't the same. It's a portable medical order that travels with the patient across healthcare settings.
Start with Maine Revised Statutes, Title 18-C, §5-803, linked as this section's source. Use the current form or sample that the official source provides or identifies. Form authority and execution requirements vary by state, so confirm the source before signing and get legal help if your situation or the instructions are unclear.
Maine requires 2 adult witnesses; notarization isn’t required. Anyone 18 or older of sound mind can make one.
Last verified: August 7, 2026
Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, §2843 ↗At a Glance
In Maine, there's no mandatory waiting period before cremation can occur, though most crematories require at least 24 hours. A permit for final disposition is required, and certain methods like cremation require a medical examiner's release. The authorized person (next-of-kin or designated agent) must provide authorization.
Maine allows for green burial, which involves natural burial practices without embalming, vaults, or non-biodegradable caskets. Human composting (natural organic reduction) was legalized in Maine in 2024 (Title 22, §2900-A), offering another eco-friendly option. Home burial is also permitted in Maine, provided local ordinances are followed and a disposition permit is obtained.
Funeral homes in Maine are regulated by the Maine Board of Funeral Service. They must be licensed and adhere to state laws regarding consumer protection, including price disclosure. The FTC Funeral Rule also applies, requiring transparent pricing and itemized statements for funeral goods and services.
Maine sets this order by statute. The first person on the list who is available and willing decides, and a funeral home takes its instructions from them.
Naming someone in advance. Any written and signed document in which the decedent designates a person to have custody and control, 22 M.R.S. § 2843-A(2)(A). Maine prescribes no form and the statute imposes no witness or notary requirement, and the designation is not tied to an advance health-care directive. Separately, § 2843-A(5) makes the person with custody and control follow the decedent's written and signed funeral instructions to the extent the decedent prepaid or left resources for them.
When the same tier disagrees. Where two or more next of kin share the same relationship, the majority has custody and control. If they can't reach a majority decision, the probate court decides on a petition under subsection 4(D) filed by two or more of them or by a funeral director, weighing the reasonableness and practicality of the proposed arrangements, the degree of personal relationship, the desires of whoever is ready, able, and willing to pay, the convenience and needs of other family and friends, the decedent's expressed written desires, and the degree to which the arrangements allow maximum participation. Pending that order, a funeral director may refuse to accept or dispose of the remains until given a court order or a written agreement, and may embalm or refrigerate and bill the estate plus attorney's fees and court costs.
A spouse or domestic partner who was estranged from the decedent, meaning living in separate residences with a relationship characterized by hostility or indifference, is cut out entirely and control passes to the next of kin below them. Anyone charged with murder, or with manslaughter under 17-A M.R.S. § 203(1)(B), forfeits custody and control and a funeral director who knows of the charge may not release the body to them, with the right restored in the same priority position on dismissal or acquittal before disposition. Rights lapse to the next level if not exercised within 4 days of the death, remains count as abandoned after 15 days, and paying for the arrangements gives no one a greater right than they would otherwise have.
Three separate pots of money, on three different agencies' websites, collected nowhere. A family that qualifies for all three usually claims none of them.
1. When nobody can pay. Municipal General Assistance burial and cremation, under 22 M.R.S. ch. 1161. Every Maine municipality must run a General Assistance program, and the state sets the burial and cremation maximums each year in the DHHS model ordinance. The family (or funeral director) applies to the town or city GA administrator. The municipality's General Assistance administrator/overseer, under rules and maximums set by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Family Independence.
What it pays. Maine DHHS 2025 General Assistance Ordinance, Appendix H, effective 10/01/25-09/30/26, verbatim: "The maximum amount of general assistance granted for the purpose of burial is $1,620." and "The maximum amount of assistance granted for a cremation shall be $1,125." Allowable burial expenses are limited to removal of the body, a secured death certificate or obituary, embalming, a minimum casket, reasonable necessary transportation, opening and closing the grave, and a lot in the least expensive section of the cemetery. Cremation covers removal and transportation, professional fees, crematorium fees, and a secured death certificate or obituary.
What disqualifies you. 22 M.R.S. 4313(2), verbatim: "The parent, grandparent, children or grandchildren, by consanguinity, or the spouse or domestic partner are responsible for the burial or cremation costs of the eligible person in proportion to their respective abilities. When no legally liable relative possesses a financial capacity to pay either in lump sum or on an installment basis for the direct costs of a burial or cremation, the contribution of a municipality under this subsection is limited to a reasonable calculation of the funeral director's direct costs, less any and all contributions from any other source." Social Security and VA burial benefits are deducted from the municipal maximum; the one exception in the ordinance is up to $75 contributed toward an obituary notice, which is not deducted if a paid receipt is provided.
2. If the death was caused by a crime. Maine Attorney General, Victims' Compensation Program, verbatim: "Funeral/ burial costs up to $4,500, costs of a marker up to $500".
Maine crime victim compensation ↗
3. Money the person was already owed. Search Maine's unclaimed property before you borrow anything. Searching and claiming are free.
The funeral director carries the clock, not the family: 22 M.R.S. 4313(2) requires the director to notify the municipal overseer before burial or cremation, or by the end of 3 business days after receiving the body, whichever is earlier. The town then has 8 days after receiving the application to decide. The maximums roll every October 1, so the figure changes with the state fiscal year.
Last verified: July 16, 2026
Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, §4103 ↗At a Glance
Maine imposes an estate tax on the value of the Maine taxable estate for residents. For 2026, the exemption amount is $7.16 million. Estates exceeding this threshold are subject to tiered tax rates ranging from 8% to 12%. The tax applies to the portion of the estate that exceeds the exemption.
The Maine estate tax exemption is indexed for inflation and is separate from the federal estate tax exemption.
Maine doesn't impose an inheritance tax. This means that beneficiaries who inherit property from a deceased person in Maine don't have to pay a state tax on their inheritance.
The federal estate tax applies to estates over $15 million per person (2026), $30 million for married couples. This is separate from any state estate or inheritance tax. The Working Families Tax Cuts Bill (Public Law 119-21, 2025) made the higher exemption permanent, so the drop to roughly $7 million once scheduled under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act never took effect.
Yes. Maine levies its own estate tax, with a state exemption of $7.16 million and rates of 8%-12%. The federal estate tax can also apply, but only to estates over $15 million per person (2026).
No. Maine doesn’t tax inheritances. Heirs owe no state tax on what they receive, though the estate itself can owe state estate tax before anything is distributed.
$15 million per person, $30 million for a married couple, indexed for inflation. The Working Families Tax Cuts Bill (Public Law 119-21, 2025) made the higher exemption permanent. Estates below the threshold owe no federal estate tax.
Last verified: August 8, 2026
Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, Ch. 710-B (Anatomical Gift Act) ↗At a Glance
In Maine, you can register as an organ and tissue donor when applying for or renewing your driver's license or state identification card at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). You can also register online through the Maine Organ Donor Registry. Your decision to donate can also be noted in your advance directive.
In Maine, a registered organ donor decision is legally binding, and nobody else can amend or revoke it after your death (22 M.R.S. § 2948(1)). One exception: if the donor is an unemancipated minor, a parent who is reasonably available can revoke or amend the gift (22 M.R.S. § 2948(6)). Organ procurement organizations still consult families in practice, so tell yours what you decided.
Source: 22 M.R.S. § 2948 (preclusive effect of anatomical gift) ↗
Need Help in Maine?
Wills, trusts, advance directives, and probate all benefit from a licensed professional. We've compiled a directory of funeral directors, grief counselors, hospice providers, and financial advisors. Sorted by state. Before a listing appears, we check the provider's phone and address against the provider's own website.
Find Help in Maine →From The MORTL Edit
Sources: Maine Revised Statutes Titles 18-C, 22, 36; Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention; New England Donor Services. Individual sections are updated and re-dated whenever a law changes, which is why the date at the top of the guide can be newer than this one. The whole guide also gets a front-to-back review on a schedule. Last front-to-back review: June 2026.
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