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General information · not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.
Pages taken from the planner, by email: who to phone first, and a blank records sheet.
Every quotation on this page is the official body’s own words, as they stood on the day we read them. The date is beside each one.
The register has the power to probate wills, appoint personal representatives as provided in sections 3‑302 and 3‑307 and perform other duties set out in this Code.
Maine · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · 18-C M.R.S. §1-307
Applications for informal probate or informal appointment must be directed to the register
Maine · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · 18-C M.R.S. §3-301(1)
Upon receipt of an application requesting informal probate of a will, the register upon making the findings required by section 3-303 shall issue a written statement of informal probate if at least 120 hours have elapsed since the decedent's death.
Maine · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · 18-C M.R.S. §3-302
Each judge may take the probate of wills and grant letters testamentary or of administration on the estates of all deceased persons who, at the time of their death, were inhabitants or residents of the judge's county…
Maine · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · 4 M.R.S. §251
An informal probate or appointment proceeding or formal testacy or appointment proceeding, other than a proceeding to probate a will previously probated at the testator's domicile and appointment proceedings relating to an estate in which there has been a prior appointment, may not be commenced more than 3 years after the decedent's death, except:
Maine · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · 18-C M.R.S. §3-108(1)
a personal representative upon appointment shall publish a notice to creditors announcing the appointment and the personal representative's address and notifying creditors of the estate to present their claims within 4 months after the date of the first publication of the notice or be forever barred.
Maine · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · 18-C M.R.S. §3-801(1)
unless presented within the earlier of the following: A. Nine months after the decedent's death; or
Maine · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · 18-C M.R.S. §3-803(1)(A)
$10,000 and under, the fee is $40;
More than $2,000,000, the fee is $1,200, and continuing in steps of $250 for every increase in value of $500,000 or part thereof above $2,500,000.
For each certificate, under seal of the court, of the appointment and qualification of a personal representative, guardian, conservator or trustee, the fee is $10
For filing a will for no probate, the fee is $15.
Maine · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · 18-C M.R.S. §1-602(2), (4)
After the death of a testator, a person having custody of a will of the testator shall deliver it with reasonable promptness to a person able to secure its probate or, if no such person is known, to an appropriate court for filing and recording until probate is sought.
A person who willfully refuses or fails to deliver a will, or who defaces or destroys it, after being ordered by the court in a proceeding brought for the purpose of compelling delivery is subject to penalty for contempt of court.
Maine · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · 18-C M.R.S. §2-515
The court may not accept a will for safekeeping after September 19, 1997.
A will deposited for safekeeping with the court in the office of the register before September 19, 1997 may be delivered only to the testator or to a person authorized in writing signed by the testator to receive the will.
Upon being informed of the testator's death, the court shall notify any person designated to receive the will and deliver it to that designated person on request
Maine · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · 18-C M.R.S. §2-514
A couple. A parent. An adult child and a parent, doing it together. One sitting starts it; keep it current, and tell someone where it is.
