Maine Small Estate Affidavit

The affidavit route (18-C M.R.S. section 3-1201)

Section 3-1201(1) provides that 30 days after the death of a decedent, any person indebted to the decedent or having possession of personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in action belonging to the decedent shall make payment of the indebtedness or deliver the personal property or instrument to a person claiming to be the successor of the decedent on being presented an affidavit made by or on behalf of the successor stating four matters: the value of the entire estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $40,000, adjusted for inflation pursuant to section 1-108; 30 days have elapsed since the death of the decedent; no application or petition for the appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction; and the claiming successor is entitled to payment or delivery of the property. Section 3-1201(2) provides that a transfer agent shall change the registered ownership on the books of a corporation from the decedent to the successor or successors on presentation of an affidavit as provided in subsection 1.

Note the current wording. The current subsection 1 says personal property, not the 2013 phrase tangible personal property. Do not carry the older qualifier as current text. The affidavit collects personal property and instruments. The section contains no express real estate bar sentence, unlike New Mexico. This guide states only the section scope and stops. It does not route real estate cases to an unread statute, and it does not claim an express statutory prohibition the Maine text does not state.

The inflation adjustment (section 1-108)

Section 1-108 adjusts every dollar figure in sections 2-402, 2-403, and 3-1201, plus sections 2-102 and 2-405, by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers against the 2017 reference base. The adjustment applies to decedents dying in or after 2017. For deaths after 2018, the amounts must be increased or decreased by the Consumer Price Index change against the base, using the Consumer Price Index for the calendar year immediately preceding the year of death, rounded to the next $100, down if an increase, up if a decrease. The adjusted figure therefore depends on the year of death. A flat $40,000 build misstates the test for every death after 2018.

No adjusted dollar figure is stated as verified in this guide. No county probate court publication was opened, and no section 1-108 computation was re-performed. A single secondary figure seen in research was not verified, is not stated here, and must not be treated as verified. A reader must check the county probate court publication for the death year in question, or check section 1-108 mechanics with the court, before relying on any adjusted figure. Do not use $40,000 as the current figure. The $20,000 figure under the former Title 18-A is stale. It died in the 2017 recodification to Title 18-C, and Title 18-A was repealed. Any Title 18-A cite or $20,000 figure is stale.

Section 1-108 states no published table, no fixed current figure, and no rounding to anything but $100. It does not adjust the family allowance in section 2-404, which is a reasonable amount with no dollar figure, and it does not adjust the $1,000 figure in section 3-1205. Never inflation adjust either figure.

Effect (section 3-1202)

Section 3-1202, as read in a 2023 republication, provides that the payer or deliverer is discharged as if dealing with a personal representative, has no duty to see to the application of the property or to inquire into the truth of any statement, and on refusal may be compelled on proof of right. The recipient is answerable to any personal representative or superior right person. The official page for section 3-1202 was not opened. The build re-reads it on the official site before relying on it further. See the Source section.

Summary administration (sections 3-1203 and 3-1204), separate route

Section 3-1203 is one sentence. If it appears from the inventory and appraisal that the value of the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses, and reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness of the decedent, the personal representative, without giving notice to creditors, may immediately disburse and distribute the estate to the persons entitled to the estate and file a closing statement as provided in section 3-1204. This route has no dollar cap. Never import the section 3-1201 adjusted figure into it. The route requires a personal representative plus an inventory and appraisal. It is not a no court route.

Section 3-1204 provides closing by verified statement, stating the relative test to the personal representative best knowledge, full administration by disbursement and distribution, and a copy sent to all distributees plus known unpaid or unbarred creditors and claimants, with a full written account to affected distributees. Court order prohibition and supervised personal representative estates are excluded. The appointment terminates if no proceeding is pending one year after filing. The statement has the same effect as a section 3-1003 closing statement. No six month closing wait is stated for section 3-1204 in this guide. That timing belongs to a different section and was not established as reaching this route.

The allowance components are base amounts. Section 2-402 states a homestead allowance of $22,500, base, for the surviving spouse, or $22,500 divided among minor or dependent children if no surviving spouse, exempt from and priority over all claims except administration costs and reasonable funeral expenses, in addition to intestate, elective, or will shares unless the will expressly says in lieu of the allowance. Section 2-403 states exempt property of $15,000, base, in excess of security interests in tangible personal property, including household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances, and personal effects, with children jointly if no surviving spouse, deficiency make up from other assets, and priority over all claims except administration costs and reasonable funeral expenses, with abatement to permit earlier homestead and family allowance payment. Both figures are base amounts in section 1-108 list. Stating either as a current figure without the adjustment repeats the flat figure error inside the summary route. No adjusted allowance figure is stated here. Section 2-404 states a family allowance as a reasonable allowance in money for maintenance during administration, up to one year if the estate is inadequate to discharge allowed claims, payable in a lump sum or installments, exempt from and priority over all claims except administration costs, reasonable funeral expenses, and the homestead allowance. No dollar figure appears in section 2-404. Never invent one.

Separate instrument (section 3-1205)

Section 3-1205 is a separate federal benefit affidavit, not a third route of section 3-1201. If not less than 30 days after the death of a Maine resident entitled at death to a monthly benefit or benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act, all or part of the benefit amount not in excess of $1,000 is paid by the United States to the surviving spouse, one or more of the decedent children or descendants of deceased children, the decedent father or mother, or the decedent brother or sister, with preference in the order named if more than one request is made, on an affidavit made and filed with the federal Department of Health and Human Services by the surviving spouse or other relative by whom or on whose behalf request is made. The affidavit must show the date of death, the relationship of the affiant, that no personal representative has been appointed and qualified, and that to the affiant knowledge no relative of a closer degree of kindred exists at filing. Payment under the affidavit is deemed payment to the legal representative and constitutes a full discharge of the United States, regardless of the truth or falsity of the statements. The $1,000 figure is unadjusted. The department name is quoted as written in the statute text. Do not merge this instrument into the section 3-1201 page as if it were the same affidavit.

Form AF-102, vendor copy only

Form AF-102, revision April 8, 2020, Small Estate Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property, was read only as a vendor copy. It tracks the four statements in substance, with the value stated generically as the amount provided in section 3-1201, adjusted for inflation as provided in section 1-108, with no dollar figure printed. That generic cross reference is correct. The form carries no successor list, no death certificate attachment, no property schedule, no debt or creditor statement, no filing instruction, and no fee field. Its jurat block carries a Notary Public or Attorney at Law oath. Notarization and oath are features of the form, not requirements stated in section 3-1201 text. Never write that the statute requires notarization. Never write that the statute requires a death certificate. Neither the statute nor the form as shown requires one. The form revision predates 2025, and a newer revision, if any, was not checked. Do not present AF-102 as the official form without verifying its current source.

Absences are findings. Section 3-1201 states no filing, no court, no fee, no bond, no publication by the affiant, no creditor notice, no debt payment condition, no notarization, no death certificate, no successor list, no property schedule, no will or testate and intestate distinction, no vehicle specific sentence, and no definition of successor. The definition section, section 1-105, was not read. No successor definition is stated here. No fee figure is stated for any route. The section 3-1201 route states no filing, so no court fee sentence is written for it. County value banded fee schedules are county specific, and no county schedule figure is stated here. No Bureau of Motor Vehicles vehicle step is stated, because that source was not checked. No three year time limit is stated for the affidavit route, because the section states no time limit beyond the 30 day wait and the other time limit section was not read.

For small estate procedures in other states, see the Small Estate Affidavits by State directory. For the questions each state procedure answers, see Small Estate Affidavit Questions.

Source

Sources: 18-C M.R.S. section 3-1201, official legislature.maine.gov text; 18-C M.R.S. section 1-108, official legislature.maine.gov text; 18-C M.R.S. sections 2-402 and 2-403, official legislature.maine.gov texts; 18-C M.R.S. section 3-1202, Justia 2023 republication; 18-C M.R.S. section 3-1203, FindLaw text current as of January 1, 2025; 18-C M.R.S. section 3-1204, Justia 2022 and 2023 texts; 18-C M.R.S. section 2-404, Justia 2025 and official PDF, current through October 1, 2025; 18-C M.R.S. section 3-1205, official PDF and Justia texts; Form AF-102 Rev. 04/08/20, vendor copy via TemplateRoller. Facts verified 2026-11-01. Open flags: (1) official HTML pages for sections 3-1202, 3-1203, 3-1204, 3-1205, and 2-404 were not opened, so those sections rest on republication or PDF snippet reads and no post October 1, 2025 amendment is confirmed or ruled out; (2) the 2025 chapter text for the recent amendment to section 3-1201 was not opened, so no sentence in this guide rests on that chapter, and no claim is made about what it changed beyond the official section text as read; (3) no adjusted figure is verified, because no county probate court publication was opened and no adjustment computation was re-performed, and a single secondary figure is not carried; (4) Form AF-102 current source and any post-2025 revision were not verified; (5) whether county courts have published the adjusted value, in what form, and whether any publication predates the recent amendment, was not measured, so no compliance fact is stated; (6) no fee source was read, so no fee figure is stated; (7) the Bureau of Motor Vehicles acceptance procedure was not checked, so no vehicle step is stated; (8) the successor definition in section 1-105 was not read, so no definition is stated; (9) on site coverage was not checked in the research run because the box tunnel was down, so the build must grep for a Maine small estate slug before publishing.

This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to the Maine probate court or a lawyer.