End of Life Planning Checklist for Maine: Everything You Need to Complete

Why a Maine-Specific Checklist Matters

Generic end-of-life planning checklists miss the details that actually matter when you live in Maine. The state has its own advance directive format, unique probate thresholds that change with inflation adjustments, a state estate tax that most other states do not have, and Medicaid estate recovery rules with specific exemptions. A checklist that does not account for these specifics leaves gaps that your family will discover at the worst possible time.

Healthcare Documents

Advance Health Care Directive

Maine combines the healthcare proxy and living will into a single document under the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act. This is your first priority.

• [ ] Name a healthcare agent (and an alternate)
• [ ] Document your treatment preferences for terminal illness and permanent unconsciousness
• [ ] Address artificial nutrition, hydration, and pain management
• [ ] Include psychiatric treatment preferences if applicable
• [ ] Sign with two adult witnesses present (electronic signatures prohibited)
• [ ] Add notarization if including burial/cremation authority or if you travel out of state
• [ ] Distribute copies to your agent, alternate, physician, hospital, and any care facility

POLST or DNR Order (If Applicable)

Only relevant if you have a serious illness or advanced frailty. These are medical orders, not legal documents — they require your physician's signature.

• [ ] Discuss with your physician whether a POLST or Comfort Care/DNR order is appropriate
• [ ] Complete Section A (CPR), Section B (medical interventions), and Section C (nutrition) of the POLST
• [ ] Post the original colored form on your refrigerator or in a visible location
• [ ] Consider DNR jewelry if you are mobile

Organ Donation

• [ ] Register preferences through the Maine BMV, the National Donate Life Registry (RegisterMe.org), or within your advance directive
• [ ] Ensure your advance directive and registry selections match

Financial and Legal Documents

Financial Power of Attorney

A separate document from your healthcare directive, governed by Title 18-B. Must be notarized.

• [ ] Name a financial agent to manage bank accounts, real estate, taxes, and bills if you become incapacitated
• [ ] Understand that Maine POAs are automatically durable — they remain effective after incapacity unless you state otherwise

Last Will and Testament

• [ ] Name an executor (personal representative)
• [ ] Specify beneficiaries for assets that do not pass through non-probate mechanisms
• [ ] Name a guardian for minor children if applicable

Non-Probate Transfer Planning

These mechanisms keep assets out of probate court and away from creditor claims, including MaineCare estate recovery:

• [ ] Transfer on Death (TOD) deeds for real estate — authorized under Maine law
• [ ] Pay-on-Death (POD) designations on bank accounts
• [ ] Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, and investment accounts
• [ ] Joint tenancy with right of survivorship on property you co-own

Maine-Specific Thresholds to Know (2026)

These numbers change annually with inflation adjustments. Using outdated figures can lead to unnecessary probate proceedings or missed exemptions.

The small estate affidavit is particularly important: if a decedent's personal property is valued at $52,500 or less, heirs can claim it without going through probate court. But this affidavit cannot transfer real estate — only personal property.

MaineCare (Medicaid) Considerations

If long-term care is a possibility, estate recovery planning should happen before a MaineCare application, not after.

• [ ] Understand that MaineCare estate recovery is limited to probate assets only — assets that pass outside probate (joint tenancy, TOD deeds, beneficiary accounts) are protected
• [ ] Know the 2026 asset limits: $10,000 individual, $162,660 community spouse resource allowance, $750,000 home equity limit
• [ ] Do not sell the home while the MaineCare recipient is alive — converting an exempt asset (the home) to cash creates immediate disqualification
• [ ] Review hardship and caregiver waivers if applicable (caregiver-child must have lived in the home for 2+ years before institutionalization)

Estate Tax and Real Estate

Even if your estate is well below the $7,160,000 exclusion, there is one task you cannot skip:

• [ ] The personal representative must file a Statement of Value (Form 700-SOV) with Maine Revenue Services to release the automatic estate tax lien that attaches to all real property on the date of death
• [ ] Record the Certificate of Discharge of Estate Tax Lien in the county Registry of Deeds ($40 recording fee)

Without this discharge, the property cannot be legally sold or transferred with a clear title — even if no estate tax is owed.

Funeral and Final Arrangements

• [ ] Document burial vs. cremation preferences (in your advance directive, if notarized, or separately)
• [ ] Pre-fund funeral arrangements if desired (MaineCare allows irrevocable burial trusts)
• [ ] Designate who should handle final arrangements if not your healthcare agent

Digital and Administrative

• [ ] List all bank accounts, investment accounts, insurance policies, and retirement accounts with login credentials
• [ ] Document recurring bills and subscriptions
• [ ] Store all documents in an accessible location — not a safe deposit box, which may be sealed upon death

The Maine Advance Directive & Living Will Kit covers the healthcare planning portion of this checklist — the advance directive, signing ceremony, POLST coordination, and MaineCare estate recovery reference — with all the 2026 Maine-specific thresholds built in.

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