If you have been named personal representative of a Maine estate, this Maine probate checklist for personal representatives walks you through the job in the order the probate court expects it done: confirm that full probate is actually necessary, open the estate in the right county, get your letters of authority, notify heirs and creditors, inventory the assets, pay valid claims in the statutory priority order, distribute what remains, and file a closing statement no sooner than six months after your appointment. Maine’s process runs under the Uniform Probate Code in Title 18-C of the Maine Revised Statutes and is handled by the probate court in the county where the decedent lived.
Step 1: Check Whether Full Probate Is Even Needed
Two shortcuts can spare you the full process.
The first is the small estate affidavit. If the estate’s total value, minus liens and encumbrances, falls below the statutory threshold of $40,000 (adjusted annually for inflation and currently around $52,500), you can collect assets with a sworn affidavit rather than opening probate. At least 30 days must have passed since the death, and no application for a personal representative can have been filed or granted anywhere. You present the affidavit to whoever holds the asset, such as a bank or brokerage, and they release the property to you as the successor.1Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 18-C 3-1201 – Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit
The second is summary administration. It applies when the estate’s total value does not exceed the combined cost of the homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, funeral expenses, last-illness medical bills, and administration costs. If protected categories would consume everything the estate owns, you skip the full creditor-claims process.
If neither shortcut fits, keep going.
Step 2: File in the Correct County Court
Maine has 16 county probate courts. File in the county where the decedent lived at the time of death. If the decedent lived out of state but owned Maine property, file in the county where the property is located.2Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 18-C 3-201 – Venue for First and Subsequent Estate Proceedings; Location of Property Filing in the wrong county creates delays, so confirm domicile before you prepare paperwork.
Step 3: Choose Informal or Formal Probate
Most Maine estates move through informal probate, which is faster, cheaper, and handled mainly through paperwork filed with the register of probate rather than courtroom hearings. Informal probate fits when no one disputes the will, no one challenges who should serve as personal representative, and no creditor issues require a judge.
Formal probate involves a judge and hearings. It comes into play when someone contests the will, priority to serve is disputed, or the court must resolve ambiguities in the estate plan. An estate that starts informally can be moved to formal proceedings by any interested party if a dispute surfaces later. The steps below assume the informal track.
Step 4: Gather Your Documents Before You File
Missing a piece mid-filing slows everything down. Pull these together first:
- The original will, if one exists. Not a copy.
- At least one certified copy of the death certificate. Banks, insurers, and the court all need one.
- The decedent’s full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and date of death.
- Names and current mailing addresses of every heir and devisee, meaning everyone who stands to inherit under the will or by intestacy.
- An asset inventory: bank and investment accounts, real estate, vehicles, retirement accounts, life insurance, business interests, and significant personal property, with account numbers and approximate values.
- A debt summary: mortgages, credit cards, medical bills, taxes owed, and other obligations. This tells you early whether the estate is solvent.
Step 5: File the Application and Pay the Fee
Maine probate forms are available through the Maine Probate Court website or at the county register’s office. For informal probate the core forms are:
- Form DE-101, Application for Informal Probate or Appointment of Personal Representative. A separate version, DE-101(I), is used for intestate estates where no will exists; it requires you to confirm under oath that after reasonable diligence you are unaware of any unrevoked will.3Maine Probate. DE-101(I) Application for Informal Appointment of Personal Representative (Intestate)
- Form DE-104, Acceptance of Appointment. Signing it means you formally agree to serve and to submit to the court’s jurisdiction.4Maine Probate. DE-104 PR Acceptance of Appointment
Submit the application, acceptance form, original will (if any), and death certificate to the register of probate in the correct county. Most offices accept filings by mail or in person during business hours. Fill in every field, and make sure the heir and devisee list includes everyone with a legal interest in the estate.
Filing fees run on a sliding scale tied to the gross value of the estate, from $40 for estates of $10,000 or less to $1,200 for estates above $2,000,000, with additional charges for larger estates. The full schedule is set out by statute.5Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 18-C 1-602 – Filing and Certification Fees Because the fee scales with value, plan for the cost once you have a working estimate of the estate.
Bond
The court may require the personal representative to post a bond, which acts like an insurance policy protecting the estate against mismanagement. If the will waives the bond, the court generally honors that. Even when a bond is required, you can petition to have it excused or reduced. When a bond is ordered, the amount is based on the estimated value of the personal estate plus expected income for the coming year.6Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 18-C 3-604 – Bond Amount; Security; Procedure; Reduction
Step 6: Get Your Letters of Authority
Once the register of probate approves the application, the court issues Form DE-404, the Letters of Authority.7Maine Probate. DE-404 Letters of Authority of PR This is your proof that you can act for the estate. Banks, title companies, brokerages, and government agencies will all want to see it before releasing information or transferring assets. Request several certified copies up front, because nearly every institution you deal with will want its own.
Step 7: Notify Heirs, DHHS, and Creditors
Within 30 days: notice to heirs and devisees
Within 30 days of your appointment, you must inform every heir and devisee that you have been appointed. Notice goes by regular mail to each person whose address you can reasonably find. It must include your name and address, a statement that the estate is being administered without court supervision, and a note that recipients can request information from you or petition the court about any aspect of the administration. Skipping this step is a breach of fiduciary duty.8Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 18-C 3-705 – Duty of Personal Representative; Information to Heirs and Devisees
If the decedent was 55 or older, you must also send notice to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, which may have a Medicaid recovery claim against the estate.9Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 18-C 3-306 – Informal Probate; Notice Requirements
Publish notice to creditors
You must publish a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the decedent lived. It runs once a week for two consecutive weeks and announces your appointment, your address, and the deadline for creditors to file claims. That deadline is four months from the first publication date. Creditors who miss it are permanently barred.10Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 18-C 3-801 – Notice to Creditors
Step 8: File the Inventory Within Three Months
Within three months of your appointment, prepare and file Form DE-405, the Probate Inventory. It lists every asset the decedent owned at death, its fair market value as of the date of death, and any encumbrances.11Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 18-C 3-706 – Duty of Personal Representative; Inventory and Appraisement Real estate typically needs a formal appraisal. For bank and investment accounts, a date-of-death statement from the institution works. The inventory sets the baseline for the filing fee, the tax analysis, and whether creditor claims can be paid in full, so accuracy matters.
Step 9: Review and Pay Claims in the Right Order
After the four-month claims window closes, review each claim and either allow or disallow it. Allowed claims get paid from estate assets. If a claim looks wrong, you can reject it in writing, and the creditor then has the option to sue the estate.
When the estate cannot pay everyone, Maine law sets a strict priority order:
- Administration costs and expenses
- Reasonable funeral expenses
- Homestead allowance
- Family allowance
- Exempt property
- Debts and taxes with federal preference
- Medicaid recovery claims and last-illness medical expenses
- Debts and taxes preferred under Maine law
- All other claims
No claim within a class outranks another claim in the same class. If assets run out partway through a class, remaining claimants in that tier share proportionally.12Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 18-C 3-805 – Classification of Claims
Step 10: Honor Family Protections Before Distributing
Before general creditors and other beneficiaries take anything, Maine law reserves several amounts for the surviving spouse and dependent children. A personal representative who distributes without accounting for these is personally liable.
- Homestead allowance. Statutory base of $22,500, adjusted annually for inflation. The 2024 figure was $27,900.13Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 18-C 2-402 – Homestead Allowance
- Exempt property allowance. Goes to the spouse or, if there is no spouse, to the decedent’s minor and dependent children. The 2024 adjusted amount was $18,600.
- Family allowance. A reasonable allowance for the maintenance of the surviving spouse and minor or dependent children during administration. No fixed cap, but if the estate is insolvent the allowance cannot continue for more than one year.14Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 18-C 2-404 – Family Allowance
These amounts adjust for inflation each year under Title 18-C, ยง 1-108. Check your county court’s website for the current figures before paying anything.
Step 11: Distribute What Remains
If there is a will, the remainder passes according to its terms once claims and family protections are satisfied. If there is no will, Maine’s intestacy rules control. The surviving spouse’s share depends on whether the decedent left descendants or surviving parents, and whatever the spouse does not receive passes to descendants by representation; if no spouse or descendants survive, the estate goes to parents, then siblings, then more remote relatives in a statutory order. The exact split for each family configuration is set by statute, so confirm it against the current version of Title 18-C before writing distribution checks.
Step 12: File Taxes and Take Reasonable Compensation
Maine imposes its own estate tax with an exemption lower than the federal threshold. For deaths in 2026, the Maine estate tax exclusion is $7,160,000.15Maine Revenue Services. Estate Tax (706ME) Estates that exceed this amount must file Form 706ME. The taxable estate includes the federal taxable estate plus certain taxable gifts made within one year of death. Even if the estate looks under the threshold, gather records of assets and lifetime gifts early to confirm whether a return is required.
You are entitled to reasonable compensation for your service. Maine does not fix a percentage or set schedule; reasonableness is judged on the complexity of the estate, time spent, and your skill. If the will specifies an amount, you can accept it or renounce it and claim reasonable compensation instead.16Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 18-C 3-719 – Compensation of Personal Representative
Step 13: Close the Estate
Once debts are paid, taxes filed, and assets distributed, close the estate by filing a verified closing statement with the court. You cannot file it until at least six months after your original appointment. The statement must confirm that the claims period has expired, that all presented claims and taxes have been paid or otherwise resolved, and that assets have been distributed to the people entitled to them. Send a copy to every distributee and to any known creditors whose claims remain unpaid or unbarred, along with a full written accounting of your administration.17Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 18-C 3-1003 – Closing Estates; by Sworn Statement of Personal Representative
If no court proceedings involving the personal representative are pending one year after the closing statement is filed, your appointment officially terminates.