Maine Has Already Written Your Estate Plan. You Probably Won't Like It.
If you die without a will in Maine, the Uniform Probate Code assigns everything — who gets the house, who raises the kids, who administers the estate. Your unmarried partner inherits nothing. Your blended family gets a statutory split that may leave your biological children with a fraction of what you intended. Your home goes through months of probate court while your heirs pay fees and wait.
And if you ever received MaineCare long-term care, the state files a recovery claim against your probate estate. The house. The camp. The savings account titled in your name alone. Not because the system is unfair — because the system is precise, and most people don't structure their assets to stay outside its reach.
The Maine Estate Planning Coordination System is the step-by-step framework that takes you from "I know I should do this" to a fully coordinated estate plan under the 2026 Maine Uniform Probate Code — will, Transfer on Death deeds, beneficiary designations, advance directive, financial power of attorney, and digital assets — in one weekend, without an attorney.
— Less Than 15 Minutes with an Estate Attorney
A standard estate plan from a Maine attorney runs $1,500–$5,000. A one-hour document review costs $350+. And every follow-up question runs on the same clock.
The kit covers everything a basic consultation would — and several coordination steps most attorneys handle piecemeal across multiple billable appointments — for a one-time fee that's a fraction of a single quarter-hour.
What the Kit Covers
- Will Execution Under the 2026 Uniform Probate Code — the exact requirements under 18-C M.R.S. § 2-502: written format, testator's signature, two competent witnesses. Why interested witnesses are permitted but dangerous. The self-proving affidavit (§ 2-503) that eliminates the need to track down witnesses during probate decades later. Guardianship nominations for minor children with primary and backup designations
- Transfer on Death Deed Recording — how to bypass probate for your home and camp without a trust, without a transfer tax, and without giving up ownership. County-by-county recording fees (Cumberland: $40 flat; York: $22 first page + $2/additional). The exact margin specifications that prevent registry rejection. The critical rule: unrecorded deeds are legally void
- Beneficiary Designation Coordination — the systematic review that catches the #1 estate planning failure: outdated beneficiary forms that override your will. Life insurance, retirement accounts, POD bank accounts, TOD brokerage accounts — each one passes directly to the named beneficiary regardless of what your will says. The kit identifies every account type and walks through the update process
- MaineCare Estate Recovery Protection — Maine's probate-only recovery definition explained in plain English. The specific asset structures that keep your home outside the state's reach: joint tenancies, POD/TOD designations, recorded Transfer on Death deeds. The $2,000 countable asset limit plus Maine's unique $8,000 savings exemption. The caregiver-child and sibling-with-equity household exemptions. The Supplemental Needs Trust for married couples when the community spouse dies first
- Maine Intestacy Map — the exact distribution tiers under the 2026 UPC, scenario by scenario. Spouse + mutual children: first $300,000 plus three-quarters. Spouse + children from a prior relationship: first $100,000 plus one-half. No spouse: children, then parents, then siblings. Unmarried partner: zero. See exactly what the default rules do to your specific family structure — before the default becomes permanent
- Advance Health Care Directive — the combined healthcare proxy and living will under Title 18-C, with execution requirements (two qualified witnesses — your agent and alternate agent are disqualified), treatment preference documentation, and Death with Dignity Act provisions for terminally ill adults
- Durable Financial Power of Attorney — authorizing a trusted person to manage finances, pay bills, and handle property transactions if you become incapacitated. Maine's durable-by-default standard and the specific powers you should include or restrict
- Digital Asset Planning Under RUFADAA — Maine's strict hierarchy of control over your online accounts after death. Without explicit consent clauses, your personal representative cannot access email, social media, or cloud storage — even with a court order. The kit shows how to document access authority that actually works
- Maine Estate Tax Analysis — the 2026 exemption ($7,160,000, inflation-adjusted), the 8–12% rate structure, and the critical difference from federal law: Maine does not allow spousal portability. If your spouse dies without using their exemption, it's permanently lost. Plus the legislative risk from proposals to lower the threshold to $1 million (LD 1617)
- The Probate Process Explained — what your heirs actually face: informal vs. formal probate, the 2026 small estate affidavit threshold ($52,500), filing fees by county, vehicle title transfer via Form MVT-22, and the timeline for standard estate administration
- Special Situations — blended families, family "camps" and multi-generational properties, updating after divorce, and the specific issues for out-of-state transplants from community property states
- 20-Item Action Checklist — a one-page printable reference that walks through every step: gather information, draft core documents, bypass probate for key assets, plan for digital assets, review and maintain. Every critical step with page references back to the full guide
What Free Resources Miss
- The Maine Statutory Will (courts.maine.gov) gives you a blank form. It doesn't explain witness selection rules, doesn't coordinate with Transfer on Death deeds or beneficiary designations, and doesn't address MaineCare estate recovery. You fill in one document with no context on how it interacts with the other five documents you need
- National platforms (LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Nolo) generate documents from multi-state templates. They don't cover Maine's county-by-county TODD recording fees, the MaineCare probate-only recovery loophole, the 2026 inflation-adjusted small estate threshold ($52,500), or the state estate tax implications of no spousal portability. A generic template with "Maine" inserted in the jurisdiction field
- Legal aid organizations (Pine Tree Legal, MLSE) provide excellent assistance — if you qualify. Income-restricted, capacity-limited, and focused on individual documents rather than coordinated estate plans. Not available to the median-income Maine resident who needs a comprehensive plan completed this month
- Estate planning attorneys provide the most comprehensive option for complex situations: Medicaid planning, special needs trusts, business succession. Also $1,500–$5,000+ for a standard plan, multi-week scheduling backlogs, and an hourly rate that makes follow-up questions expensive
Who It's For
- Young families who just bought a house and need a will that names guardians, a TODD that keeps the home out of probate, and updated beneficiary forms — completed in a weekend, not over three attorney appointments
- Retirees with a house and a camp who need both properties structured to pass directly to heirs without probate, without a trust they don't need, and without triggering MaineCare estate recovery
- Blended families who need a will that explicitly overrides Maine's default intestacy split — because the statutory formula may leave biological children with a fraction of what you intended
- Unmarried couples who have zero default inheritance rights under Maine law and need a basic estate plan to change the outcome
- Adult children helping aging parents understand MaineCare estate recovery before a nursing home admission makes asset protection planning impossible
- Out-of-state transplants who moved from a community property state and need to understand how Maine's common-law property rules change everything about asset titling and spousal ownership
Satisfaction Guarantee
If the kit doesn't give you a clear, actionable path to a coordinated Maine estate plan, email us and we'll refund your purchase. No hoops, no time limit.
Get Started
Download the full Maine Basic Estate Planning Kit and complete your estate plan in one weekend. Ten printable PDFs — a 13-chapter guide covering every aspect of basic estate planning under the 2026 Maine Uniform Probate Code, plus eight standalone worksheets and reference sheets you can print individually:
- Intestacy Scenario Map — see exactly what Maine's default rules do to your family structure
- Beneficiary Designation Worksheet — audit every account that passes outside your will
- MaineCare Estate Recovery Reference — asset protection strategies under the probate-only rule
- TODD Recording Guide — county-by-county fees and formatting requirements
- Advance Directive Requirements — execution checklist for your healthcare proxy and living will
- Digital Asset Inventory — plan for online accounts under Maine's RUFADAA
- Probate Filing Fees — the complete 2026 fee schedule by estate value
- Maine Forms Directory — every form referenced in the kit, with where to find it
Not ready for the full kit? Download the free Maine Estate Planning Checklist — a one-page printable reference covering every critical step from will execution through beneficiary updates. The full kit is there when you need the detailed instructions behind each step.