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MAINE LEGAL INFORMATION
Last Will and Testament Statutes
Link to the Maine Statutes online which contain the portion of the Probate Code dealing with last wills; see Part 5 entitled "Wills".
Last Will information from the Maine Bar Association
Frequently asked probate questions from Legal Services for the Elderly
American Bar Association Guide to Wills and Estates
American Bar Association, Estate Planning
Selected Maine Statutes
- Who may make a will. Any person 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will.
Maine Code, Title 18A, Section 2-501.
- Execution. Except as provided for holographic wills, writings within section 2-513, and wills within section 2-506, every will shall be in writing signed by the testator or in the testator's name by some other person in the testator's presence and by his direction, and shall be signed by at least 2 persons each of whom witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will.
Maine Code, Title 18A, Section 2-502.
- Holographic will. A will which does not comply with section 2-502 is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and the material provisions are in the handwriting of the testator.
Maine Code, Title 18A, Section 2-503.
- Self-proved will.
(a) Any will may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved, by acknowledgment thereof by the testator and affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state where execution occurs and evidenced by the officer's certificate in substantially the following form:
I, __________________, the testator, on this .......... day of .........., 19.., being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as my last will and that I sign it willingly (or willingly direct another to sign for me), as my free and voluntary act and that I am eighteen years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
_______________________________
Testator
We, ____________________,____________________ the witnesses, being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the testator has signed and executed this instrument as his last will and that he signed it willingly (or willingly directed another to sign for him), and that each of us, in the presence and hearing of the testator, signs this will as witness to the testator's signing, and that to the best of our knowledge the testator is eighteen years of age or older, of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence.
_______________________________
Witness
_______________________________
Witness
The State of ..........
County of ..........
Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by ...., the testator and subscribed and sworn to before me by ...., and ...., witnesses, this .... day of ....
(Seal) (Signed) ....................
(Official capacity of officer)
Maine Code, Title 18A, Section 2-504.
- Who may witness.
(a) Any person generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will.
(b) A will is not invalid because the will is signed by an interested witness.
Maine Code, Title 18A, Section 2-505.
- Choice of law as to execution. A written will is valid if executed in compliance with section 2-502 or 2-503 or if its execution complies with the law at the time of execution of the place where the will is executed, or of the law of the place where at the time of execution or at the time of death the testator is domiciled, has a place of abode or is a national.
Maine Code, Title 18A, Section 2-506.
- Revocation by writing or by act. A will or any part thereof is revoked (1) By a subsequent will which revokes the prior will or part expressly or by inconsistency; or (2) By being burned, torn, canceled, obliterated, or destroyed, with the intent and for the purpose of revoking it by the testator or by another person in his presence and by his direction.
Maine Code, Title 18A, Section 2-507.
- Revocation by divorce; no revocation by other changes of circumstances. If after executing a will the testator is divorced or his marriage annulled, the divorce or annulment revokes any disposition or appointment of property made by the will to the former spouse, any provision conferring a general or special power of appointment on the former spouse, and any nomination of the former spouse as executor, trustee, conservator, or guardian, unless the will expressly provides otherwise. Property prevented from passing to a former spouse because of revocation by divorce or annulment passes as if the former spouse failed to survive the decedent, and other provisions conferring some power or office on the former spouse are interpreted as if the spouse failed to survive the decedent. If provisions are revoked solely by this section, they are revived by testator's remarriage to the former spouse. For purposes of this section, divorce or annulment means any divorce or annulment which would exclude the spouse as a surviving spouse within the meaning of section 2-802, subsection (b). A decree of separation which does not terminate the status of husband and wife is not a divorce for purposes of this section. No change of circumstances other than as described in this section revokes a will.
Maine Code, Title 18A, Section 2-508.
- Separate writing identifying bequest of tangible property. Whether or not the provisions relating to holographic wills apply, a will may refer to a written statement or list to dispose of items of tangible personal property not otherwise specifically disposed of by the will, other than money, evidences of indebtedness, documents of title, and securities, and property used in trade or business. To be admissible under this section as evidence of the intended disposition, the writing must either be in the handwriting of the testator or be signed by him and must describe the items and the devisees with reasonable certainty. The writing may be referred to as one to be in existence at the time of the testator's death; it may be prepared before or after the execution of the will; it may be altered by the testator after its preparation; and it may be a writing which has no significance apart from its effect upon the dispositions made by the will.
Maine Code, Title 18A, Section 2-513.
Maine has a "statutory will" law which is essentially a form for a very basic last will. Click here to be taken to Maine's statutory will form.
Library of Informational Legal Articles
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