Maine executor and estate paperwork checklist

This is an organizer, not legal advice. An estate attorney or the county probate/surrogate office answers questions about your situation.

The first 30 days

General steps in plain words. Tick them off as you go; the ticks stay on this screen only.

1. Ask for certified death certificates, more than you thinkThe funeral director or vital records office issues them. Institutions often keep the copy you send, so plan on one each.
2. Check that Social Security has been toldThe funeral home usually reports it. Otherwise call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), and ask about the $255 lump-sum death payment for a surviving spouse or some children.
3. Find the original willLook for the signed original and any codicils (later changes). Keep the original safe and unaltered; make copies for yourself.
4. Check the will for a self-proving affidavitLook for a notarized statement by the witnesses attached to the will; this state allows one (see below).
5. Secure the home, car and mailLock up, keep the insurance in force, photograph valuables and forward the mail to yourself.
6. Pause before paying creditors or dividing keepsakesWho may act, and in what order bills get paid, depends on the route. Ask before you spend or distribute anything.
7. Stop using the person's power of attorneyA power of attorney ends at the principal's death, so an agent under it can't act for the estate.
8. Start an inventoryEvery account, property, vehicle and debt, with how each is held. Beneficiary and joint accounts usually pass directly, not through the estate.
9. Count 30 days from the deathThat's when the official page says the small estate paperwork can be used.
10. Open a simple money logOne line per payment or deposit, with the date, who, how much and the receipt. It makes the final accounting easy.
11. Once you have authority: EIN and an estate accountThe IRS says you need an EIN before filing the estate's Form 1041, which is due if the estate has more than $600 of gross income in a year.

Sources for the federal steps: Social Security Administration: When someone dies · IRS: Deceased taxpayers, filing the estate income tax return (Form 1041) · power of attorney: Power of attorney at a real estate closing.

The small estate route

• ConfirmedSmall estate limit

  The whole estate, less liens and encumbrances, can't exceed $40,000 adjusted for inflation. Each county probate court must publish the current adjusted figure on its website every year (PL 2025, c. 76); ask the court for it. The section covers personal property, debts and securities only; it doesn't transfer real estate.

  "does not exceed $40,000, adjusted for inflation pursuant to section 1-108"

  Sources: 18-C M.R.S. 3-1201, Collection of personal property by affidavit (Maine Legislature); Maine Probate Courts form AF-102, Small Estate Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (rev. 09/01/19); LD 1545 (132nd Legislature), An Act to Clarify the Maximum Value That a Small Estate May Be (Maine Legislature); Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in Maine (Nolo, updated 10/17/2024), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedReal estate

  Real estate isn't counted, and the affidavit doesn't transfer it; it needs its own route.

  Sources: 18-C M.R.S. 3-1201, Collection of personal property by affidavit (Maine Legislature); Maine Probate Courts form AF-102, Small Estate Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (rev. 09/01/19); LD 1545 (132nd Legislature), An Act to Clarify the Maximum Value That a Small Estate May Be (Maine Legislature); Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in Maine (Nolo, updated 10/17/2024), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedWaiting period after the death

  30 days. Thirty days after the death.

  "Thirty days after the death of a decedent"

  Sources: 18-C M.R.S. 3-1201, Collection of personal property by affidavit (Maine Legislature); Maine Probate Courts form AF-102, Small Estate Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (rev. 09/01/19); LD 1545 (132nd Legislature), An Act to Clarify the Maximum Value That a Small Estate May Be (Maine Legislature); Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in Maine (Nolo, updated 10/17/2024), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedNotary or oath

  Signed before a notary. The probate courts' form is sworn before a notary public or an attorney-at-law.

  "Notary Public/Attorney-at-Law"

  Source: Maine Probate Courts form AF-102, Small Estate Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (rev. 09/01/19), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedWhere the paperwork goes

  Handed to the bank or other holder. Presented to the person who owes the debt or holds the property; the statute doesn't call for a court filing.

  Source: 18-C M.R.S. 3-1201, Collection of personal property by affidavit (Maine Legislature), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedOfficial form

  AF-102, Small Estate Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property. The probate courts' form, revised September 1, 2019.

  Source: Maine Probate Courts form AF-102, Small Estate Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (rev. 09/01/19), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedSimplified court procedure

  Summary administration (18-C M.R.S. 3-1203): As Nolo's summary describes it: when the estate's net value is no more than the homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, administration costs and funeral and last-illness expenses, the personal representative distributes right away without notifying creditors, then files a closing statement with the probate court.

  Source: Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in Maine (Nolo, updated 10/17/2024), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedWorth knowing

  The base figure in the statute is $40,000, but the working figure is indexed; the county probate court publishes it. We didn't find the current published amount, so the checker can't compare a value for Maine.

  Source: 18-C M.R.S. 3-1201, Collection of personal property by affidavit (Maine Legislature), checked November 2026

The will at probate

When the will goes to the court, these signing rules are what it is checked against.

• ConfirmedWitnesses the will needed

  At least two witnesses. Each one watches the testator sign, or hears the testator acknowledge the signature or the will, and then signs within a reasonable time (18-C M.R.S. 2-502).

  "Signed by at least 2 individuals"

  Source: 18-C M.R.S. 2-502, Execution; witnessed wills; holographic wills (Maine Legislature), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedSelf-proving affidavit

  Allowed at signing or any time later. The testator and witnesses sign before an officer authorized to administer oaths where the will is signed.

  "each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state where execution occurs"

  Sources: 18-C M.R.S. 2-502, Execution; witnessed wills; holographic wills (Maine Legislature); 18-C M.R.S. 2-503, Self-proved will (Maine Legislature); 18-C M.R.S. 2-504, Who may witness a will (Maine Legislature); 18-C M.R.S. 2-501, Who may make a will (Maine Legislature); Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Maine (Nolo, updated October 2022); 18-C M.R.S. 2-514, Disposition of will deposited with court (Maine Legislature), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedIf the will is handwritten

  Recognized if the signature and material parts are in the testator's handwriting.

  "if the signature and material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting"

  Sources: 18-C M.R.S. 2-502, Execution; witnessed wills; holographic wills (Maine Legislature); 18-C M.R.S. 2-503, Self-proved will (Maine Legislature); 18-C M.R.S. 2-504, Who may witness a will (Maine Legislature); 18-C M.R.S. 2-501, Who may make a will (Maine Legislature); Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Maine (Nolo, updated October 2022); 18-C M.R.S. 2-514, Disposition of will deposited with court (Maine Legislature), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedA witness who inherits

  No effect on validity: a witness who takes under the will doesn't make the will, or any portion of it, invalid (18-C M.R.S. 2-504).

  "The signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any portion of it."

  Source: 18-C M.R.S. 2-504, Who may witness a will (Maine Legislature), checked November 2026

Documents to gather

• The original will and any codicils
• Deeds and mortgage statements
• Vehicle titles and registrations
• Recent bank, brokerage and retirement statements
• Life insurance policies and annuities
• The last few years of tax returns
• Recent bills, loan and credit card statements
• Pension, Social Security and benefit letters
• Safe deposit box location and keys
• Certified death certificates
• The official small estate form: AF-102, Small Estate Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property

Who to notify

Utilities and phone, Landlord or mortgage servicer, Credit card companies, Pension or employer, Social Security (if the funeral home hasn't), Banks and credit unions, Brokerage and retirement accounts, Life insurance companies. Write once to each, enclose a death certificate copy, and record the reply.

Documents needed abroad

• ConfirmedA death certificate needed abroad

  Apostilles for this state's documents come from the Maine Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions. $10 per special certification, payable to the Secretary of State. Vital records: Vital records issued by municipal, court and state officials can be certified.

  Source: Maine Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions, checked November 2026

Where to ask

An estate attorney or the county probate/surrogate office answers questions about your situation. Official pages for Maine:

• Maine Probate Courts form AF-102, Small Estate Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (rev. 09/01/19)
• Probate Shortcuts in Maine (Nolo, updated 10/17/2024)
• 18-C M.R.S. 2-514, Disposition of will deposited with court (Maine Legislature)

General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. We are not lawyers, and MCC Solutions is not a law firm. An estate attorney or the county probate/surrogate office answers questions about your situation. Facts checked November 2026.

Common questions

Related: Executor guide by state · Will signing requirements · Apostille steps · Estate paperwork help