Maine · probate and estate law
Probate in Maine: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs
Maine law decides whether an estate needs probate and what a lawyer may charge. Every fact links to its statute, with the date we read it. Not legal advice.
We do not endorse or recommend any attorney
Firms are listed by name with what they publish and what the bar roster says about them; you contact them yourself. A firm can never pay to move up a list.
Do I need a lawyer?
- Small-estate limit
- Estates under $52,500 can use a simpler process instead of full probate. In Maine this usually starts with a signed affidavit.
- Formal probate
- Required above $52,500. Independent administration: no. Uniform Probate Code: yes.
- Typical duration
- About 9 months.
- Source
- 18-C M.R.S. §3-1201 (collection by affidavit; $40,000 base adjusted for inflation under §1-108 - $52,500 for deaths in 2026) statute → · checked Oct 5, 2026
Settling an estate in Maine
What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.
- Filing the original will
In Maine, if you hold the original will of the person who died, you must hand it over with reasonable promptness to someone who can get it probated, or to the Probate Court for filing if no such person is known. The law sets no fixed number of days.
- Which court handles probate
In Maine, probate is handled by the Probate Court of the county where the person who died lived. If they lived out of state, it can be opened in any Maine county where they owned property.
- Creditors' deadline to make claims
In Maine, the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) must publish a notice to creditors once a week for two weeks after being appointed. Creditors then have four months from the first publication to present claims. In any case, claims are cut off nine months after the death.
- Estate inventory
In Maine, the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) must prepare an inventory of what the person who died owned, with values as of the date of death, within three months after appointment. It can be filed with the Probate Court or mailed to the interested people who ask for it.
- The order estate debts are paid
In Maine, if the estate cannot pay every bill, the executor or administrator pays them in a set order: estate administration costs first, then funeral expenses, then the family's homestead, family and exempt property allowances, then federal priority debts and taxes, then Medicaid recovery and last illness medical bills, then state priority debts and taxes, then everything else.
- State estate and inheritance tax
Maine has an estate tax but no inheritance tax. For deaths in 2026, a Maine taxable estate of $7,160,000 or less owes no Maine estate tax; above that, rates run from 8% to 12%.
- Closing an estate
In Maine, most estates are closed by the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) filing a sworn closing statement with the Probate Court, no earlier than six months after appointment, saying the creditor deadline has passed, all claims and taxes are handled, and the property has been given out, and sending a copy and a full account to the heirs.
What a probate lawyer may charge in Maine
Some states set the fee by statute, as a percentage of the estate. Others say "reasonable compensation", and you agree it with the firm.
No statutory fee schedule is recorded for Maine yet. Either the state leaves fees to "reasonable compensation", or we have not read the statute.
4 metros with named firms
A metro is listed once three firms there have an attorney active on the Maine bar.
Sorted by how many firms. Placement is never for sale.
Showing 1 to 4 of 4 metros in Maine
The estate letter · Maine
Settling an estate in Maine, one month at a time
Twelve months of steps with Maine's own numbers and deadlines. Read the checklist now, or sign up there for one email a month.
Get the estate letter- Month 1The first things to gather
- Month 2Work out what the estate is
- Month 3Get the authority to act
- 9 more months
Compare more
Estate checklist for Maine
What the executor does, month by month, with Maine's numbers and deadlines.
Funeral and cremation law in Maine
1 checked facts: who decides, waiting periods, permits.
Before probate
Look a lawyer up yourself
Every attorney we name is checked against the Maine bar roster. You can too: mainebaradmissions.org →