What to gather for a small estate in Maine

Pick a procedure and check off what you already have. Download or print the list to take with you.

Papers most holders ask for
Papers for this procedure: Small Estate Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property
Other formats

Your checklist

Small Estate Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property

A sworn statement you give to a bank, company or person holding the person's personal property, so they pay or deliver it to you. It is not filed with the court.

Limit

Up to $52,500 (deaths from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026) Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).

Date of deathLimit
January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026
$52,500
January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025
$51,100
January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024
$49,700
January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023
$47,700
January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022
$44,200
January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021
$42,200
January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020
$41,700

The law sets $40,000, adjusted every year for inflation by year of death. The adjusted amount is $52,500 for deaths in 2026, $51,100 for 2025, $49,700 for 2024, $47,700 for 2023, $44,200 for 2022, $42,200 for 2021 and $41,700 for 2020. The probate courts publish the amount each year.

What counts

The value of the entire estate, wherever located, minus liens and encumbrances. Property that passes outside probate (joint, payable-on-death, beneficiary and trust property) is not part of the estate.

Waiting period

Thirty days must have passed since the death.

Who can use it

A person claiming to be the successor (someone entitled to the property under the will or Maine inheritance law), or someone acting for that person. No personal representative can have been appointed or applied for in any state.

Court or where to file

Not filed with a court. You give it to the holder of the property.

Notary

The probate court form AF-102 is sworn before a notary public or a Maine attorney.

Papers to attach
  • Certified copy of the death certificate (holders usually ask for one)
  • Sworn affidavit
Steps
  1. Wait until 30 days after the death.
  2. Check that the whole estate, minus liens, is within the amount for the year of death.
  3. Fill in form AF-102 and swear to it before a notary or attorney.
  4. Give the affidavit to the bank, company or person holding the property.
Fee

No court fee; the affidavit is not filed with the court.

Debts and responsibility

If you receive property with the affidavit, you must answer for it to any personal representative appointed later and to anyone with a better right to it.

What the bank or holder must do

After 30 days the holder must pay or deliver the property on a proper affidavit, and a transfer agent must re-register securities. A holder who does so is released as if it dealt with a personal representative and does not have to check whether the statements are true. If the holder refuses, the people entitled to the property can bring a court proceeding to make it pay or deliver.

Law: 18-C M.R.S. secs. 3-1201, 3-1202, 1-108 (as amended by P.L. 2025, ch. 76)

Source: Official page

Death certificates in Maine

Requests must include photo identification and, if you are not listed on the record, proof of your relationship. The state fee is $15 for the search and one certified copy and $6 for each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time; online orders through VitalChek add a processing charge. Town clerks also issue copies.

Law: 10-146 C.M.R. ch. 7

Where to get it
Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Data, Research and Vital Statistics (Augusta), or the clerk of the town where the death happened
Official page
Official page

Car or vehicle title after a death in Maine

A surviving spouse can title the vehicle in their own name with the old title (or a duplicate title application, MVT-8, with the fee waived), an Application for Certificate of Title (MVT-2) and a notarized Affidavit of Surviving Spouse or Personal Representative (MVT-22). If there is no surviving spouse, no surviving joint owner and no personal representative, an heir who is a Maine resident (such as a child, parent or sibling) can title it with the title, form MVT-2, a notarized MVT-22 from each heir, a lien release if the car was financed (or lienholder consent, MVT-27), and a statement from the probate court that no will has been probated.

Law: 29-A M.R.S. ch. 7

Agency
Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles (Secretary of State), Division of Title Services
Form
MVT-22 Affidavit of Surviving Spouse or Personal Representative (Rev. 09-2021)
Fee

For a surviving spouse, no title fee is charged if the person was a Maine resident and the vehicle was registered and titled in Maine (a $10 rush fee applies if you want rush service). For an heir, the title application fee is $33, plus $10 for rush service.

Source: Official page

Surviving spouse in Maine

A surviving spouse can retitle the person's vehicle with form MVT-22, usually with no title fee (BMV). In a probate case the spouse is entitled to a homestead allowance ($29,500 for 2026 deaths), exempt property ($19,700) and a family allowance ($35,400) (18-C M.R.S. secs. 2-402, 2-403, 2-405, 1-108; probate courts' 2026 table).

Related pages

Free help in Maine

A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.