Maine Will and Trust Laws: Witnesses, Holographic Wills (2026)

In Maine, an individual of sound mind who is 18 or older, or a legally emancipated minor, may make a will (18-C M.R.S. 2-501). A witnessed will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by someone else in the testator's name, in the testator's conscious presence and at the testator's direction), and signed by at least two witnesses, each within a reasonable time after watching the signing or hearing the testator acknowledge it (18-C M.R.S. 2-502(1)); no notary is required for validity. Living trusts are governed by Title 18-B, the Maine Uniform Trust Code, which took effect on July 1, 2005 (18-B M.R.S. 1103).

Maine also accepts a handwritten will without witnesses (the rules in other states are collected in the wills and trusts laws by state overview). Under 2-502(2), a will that does not meet the witnessed-will rules is valid as a holographic will if the signature and material portions are in the testator's handwriting.

Information last verified on 2026-10-20. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Maine statutes on making, signing, changing and revoking wills (Title 18-C, the Probate Code, Article 2) and on revocable living trusts (Title 18-B, the Maine Uniform Trust Code). It does not cover what happens when someone dies without a will or how probate works (see Maine probate), small-estate procedures (see the Maine small estate affidavit page), powers of attorney (see Maine power of attorney laws), or taxes. A living will is a health-care directive, not a will; see the Maine advance directive tool.

What makes a will valid in Maine?

Section 2-501 sets capacity: "An individual of sound mind who is 18 or more years of age or a legally emancipated minor may make a will."

Section 2-502(1) sets the form of a witnessed will:

"Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2 and in sections 2-505 and 2-512, a will must be: A. In writing; B. Signed by the testator or in the testator's name by some other individual in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction; and C. Signed by at least 2 individuals, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after the individual witnessed either the signing of the will as described in paragraph B or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or acknowledgment of the will." (18-C M.R.S. 2-502(1))

Three points follow from the text:

• Two witnesses. At least two individuals must sign the will.
• What the witnesses watch. Each witness must have seen either the testator sign (or the proxy sign at the testator's direction) or the testator acknowledge the signature or the will.
• When the witnesses sign. Each must sign "within a reasonable time after" witnessing. Paragraph C does not add a separate requirement that the witnesses sign in the testator's presence.

Section 2-502(1) contains no notary or publication requirement.

Who can be a witness

Under 18-C M.R.S. 2-504, "An individual generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will," and "The signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any portion of it." A beneficiary who signs as a witness does not lose the gift because of the signature.

Wills signed in another state or country

Section 2-505 is Maine's choice-of-law rule for execution. A written will is valid if it complies with section 2-502, "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 or if executed in compliance with 10 United States Code, Section 1044d." That last clause covers military testamentary instruments, which federal law exempts from state formalities (see the wills and trusts hub for the federal layer).

Does a Maine will need to be notarized? The self-proved will

A notary is not part of the 2-502 signing rule. Notarization comes in through section 2-503, which lets a will be made self-proved. Under 2-503(1), "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," evidenced by the officer's certificate in substantially the statutory form.

The step does not have to happen at signing. Under 2-503(2), "An attested will may at any time subsequent to its execution be made self-proved" by the same acknowledgment and affidavits before an officer authorized to administer oaths, with the officer's certificate attached or annexed to the will.

Section 2-503(3) adds a safeguard: "A signature affixed to a self-proving affidavit attached to a will is considered a signature affixed to the will, if necessary to prove the will's due execution."

The certificate forms are set out in section 2-503 itself; this page does not reproduce them. How a self-proved will is used at probate is covered on the Maine probate page.

Are handwritten (holographic) wills valid in Maine?

Yes. Section 2-502(2) provides:

"A will that does not comply with subsection 1 is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting." (18-C M.R.S. 2-502(2))

The requirement is the signature and the material portions in the testator's handwriting; the subsection contains no date requirement. Section 2-502(3) allows intent that a document be the testator's will to be shown by extrinsic evidence, "including, for holographic wills, portions of the document that are not in the testator's handwriting."

Because 2-503(2) speaks of an "attested will," the after-the-fact self-proving route is written for a will that has witnesses.

Are oral (nuncupative) wills valid in Maine?

No. Section 2-502 requires a will to be in writing (subsection 1) or, for a holographic will, to have its signature and material portions in the testator's handwriting (subsection 2). Part 5 of Article 2 of the Probate Code, which runs from section 2-501 to section 2-517, contains no section providing for an oral will.

Electronic wills and remote witnessing

Part 5 of Article 2 contains no electronic-will section and no provision for witnesses who attend by video. Section 2-502(1) requires a will "in writing," signed by the testator and by at least two individuals who witnessed the signing or the testator's acknowledgment, and its text includes no electronic-presence language.

Maine did allow video witnessing for a period that has ended. Executive Order 37 FY 19/20, dated April 8, 2020, let a witness required to execute a document under Maine law, including a will, watch the signing by two-way audio-video communication and sign on receipt of the original. For wills, the notary or at least one witness had to be an attorney licensed in Maine, and the signer, the notary and any witness had to be physically located in Maine. The Legislature continued those rules in 4 M.R.S. section 961 (P.L. 2021, c. 337, effective June 23, 2021), and P.L. 2021, c. 651, Part C, extended that section to July 1, 2023. Section 961 is no longer in the Maine statutes.

Since July 1, 2023, 4 M.R.S. 1915 has governed notarial acts performed for a remotely located individual. The witness requirement for a will remains in 2-502(1).

Is there a harmless-error rule?

Maine's section 2-503 is the self-proved will section, not a harmless-error (dispensing power) rule, and Part 5 contains no section that lets a court excuse a defect in execution. The related provision is 2-502(3), which allows extrinsic evidence of the testator's intent that a document be the will.

Lists of personal items

A Maine will may point to a separate list for tangible personal property. Under 2-512, 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." The writing "must be in the handwriting of the testator or be signed by the testator and must describe the items and the devisees with reasonable certainty." It may be prepared before or after the will and altered later.

Maine's statutory will form

Section 2-517 contains a Maine Statutory Will form. Under 2-517(1), "Any person may execute a will on the following form, and the will must be presumed to be reasonable," and the section "does not limit any spousal rights, rights to exempt property or other rights set forth elsewhere in this Code." This page names the form only; the text is in the statute.

Changing or revoking a Maine will

Methods of revocation

Under 18-C M.R.S. 2-506(1), a will or any part of it is revoked:

1. "By the execution of a subsequent will that revokes the previous will or part expressly or by inconsistency"; or
2. "By the performance of a revocatory act on the will, if the testator performs the act with the intent and for the purpose of revoking the will or part or if another individual performs the act in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction."

A revocatory act "includes burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating or destroying the will or any part of it," and a burning, tearing or canceling counts "whether or not the burn, tear or cancellation touched any of the words on the will."

Reviving an earlier will

Section 2-508 turns revival on intent. If a later will that wholly revoked an earlier one is itself revoked by a revocatory act, "the previous will remains revoked unless it is revived," and it is revived "if it is evident from the circumstances of the revocation of the subsequent will or from the testator's contemporary or subsequent declarations that the testator intended the previous will to take effect as executed." Where the later will only partly revoked the earlier one, the revoked part is revived unless the circumstances or the testator's declarations show otherwise (2-508(2)).

Marriage, children and other life changes

Under 2-507, "Except as provided in sections 2-802, 2-803 and 2-804, a change of circumstances does not revoke a will or any part of it." Marriage or the birth of a child after the will does not revoke it; instead, sections 2-301 and 2-302 (below) give a later spouse or an omitted child a share.

Divorce

Section 2-804(2) provides that, "Except as provided by the express terms of a governing instrument, a court order or a contract relating to the division of the marital estate made between the divorced individuals before or after the marriage, divorce or annulment," a divorce or annulment:

• revokes any revocable disposition or appointment of property to the former spouse "in a governing instrument," and any disposition or appointment created by law or in a governing instrument to a relative of the former spouse;
• revokes any revocable provision conferring a power of appointment on the former spouse or a relative of the former spouse;
• revokes any revocable nomination of the former spouse or a relative of the former spouse "to serve in any fiduciary or representative capacity, including as a personal representative, executor, trustee, conservator, agent or guardian"; and
• severs joint tenancies with right of survivorship held by the former spouses at the time of the divorce, turning them into "equal tenancies in common."

Three conditions matter. First, the section reaches revocable provisions in any "governing instrument" the divorced individual executed before the divorce or annulment (2-804(1)(D)), not only in a will. Under 18-C M.R.S. 1-201(21), a governing instrument includes a deed, will, trust, insurance or annuity policy, an account with a POD designation, a security registered in beneficiary form (TOD), a transfer on death deed, and a "pension, profit-sharing, retirement or similar benefit plan." A payor or other third party that pays a designated beneficiary in good faith reliance on the instrument, before receiving written notice of the divorce or annulment, is not liable for that payment (2-804(7)(A)). Second, under 2-804(1)(B), "A decree of separation that does not terminate the status of spouses is not a divorce for purposes of this section." Third, under 2-804(5), "Provisions revoked solely by this section are revived by the divorced individual's remarriage to the former spouse or by a nullification of the divorce or annulment."

Where a state statute of this kind is applied to a spouse's beneficiary designation, federal law can override it: for employer plans governed by ERISA, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 532 U.S. 141 (2001), that federal law pre-empts a state statute revoking a spouse's beneficiary designation on divorce as applied to those plans (see the wills and trusts hub).

Slaying

Under 2-802, an individual who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent forfeits all benefits under Article 2 with respect to the decedent's estate, and the killing revokes any revocable disposition to the killer in a governing instrument. A final conviction conclusively establishes the killer; without one, the court decides on the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard (2-802(7)).

Limits on what a Maine will can do

Spouse's elective share. Under 18-C M.R.S. 2-202(1), the surviving spouse of a decedent who dies domiciled in Maine "has a right of election, under the limitations and conditions stated in this Part, to take an elective-share amount equal to 50% of the value of the marital-property portion of the augmented estate." The marital-property portion is a percentage of the augmented estate that rises with the length of the marriage, from 3% for a marriage of less than one year to 100% for 15 years or more (2-203(2)). The spouse must file a petition for the elective share in the court, and mail or deliver it to the personal representative if there is one, within 9 months after the decedent's death or within 6 months after probate of the will, whichever is later (2-211(1)). If the petition is filed more than 9 months after the death, the decedent's nonprobate transfers to others are not included in the augmented estate for computing the elective share, unless the court extended the time on a petition for extension filed within those 9 months (2-211(1), (2)).

Spouse married after the will. Under 2-301(1), a surviving spouse who married the testator after the will was signed is entitled to no less than an intestate share of the portion of the estate not devised to the testator's children born before the marriage who are not also children of the surviving spouse (or to their descendants), unless an exception applies, such as the will having been made in contemplation of the marriage.

Child born or adopted after the will. Under 2-302, a child born or adopted after the will who is not provided for receives a share, measured by the rules in that section, unless an exception in 2-302(2) applies.

No-contest clauses. Under 2-516, a provision in a will "purporting to penalize an interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate is unenforceable if probable cause exists for instituting proceedings."

The intestate shares these sections refer to are explained on the Maine probate page.

Keeping and delivering the original will

Maine probate courts no longer hold wills for safekeeping: under 2-514, "The court may not accept a will for safekeeping after September 19, 1997." A will deposited before that date may be delivered only to the testator or to a person the testator authorized in a signed writing.

After the testator dies, 2-515 requires a person with custody of the will to "deliver it with reasonable promptness to a person able to secure its probate or, if no such person is known, to an appropriate court." A person who willfully fails to deliver a will, or willfully defaces or destroys one, "is liable to any person aggrieved for the damages that may be sustained," and refusing after a court order is punishable as contempt.

Revocable living trusts in Maine

The trust code

Title 18-B, the Maine Uniform Trust Code, governs trusts. Section 1103 provides: "This Code takes effect on July 1, 2005."

Creating a trust

Section 402(1) lists the requirements: "A trust is created only if: A. The settlor has capacity to create a trust; B. The settlor indicates an intention to create the trust; C. The trust has a definite beneficiary" (or is a charitable trust, a trust for the care of an animal, or a noncharitable purpose trust); "D. The trustee has duties to perform; and E. The same person is not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary."

The Code does not add a witness or notary requirement for a revocable trust. Section 407 provides: "Except as required by a statute other than this Code, a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument, but the creation of an oral trust and its terms may be established only by clear and convincing evidence." One such other statute is 33 M.R.S. 851: a trust concerning land, other than one arising or resulting by implication of law, must be "created or declared by some writing signed by the party or his attorney."

Under 18-B 601, the capacity needed "to create, amend, revoke or add property to a revocable trust, or to direct the actions of the trustee of a revocable trust, is the same as that required to make a will."

Revocable by default, with a date limit

Section 602(1) states: "Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that the trust is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend the trust. This subsection does not apply to a trust created under an instrument executed before July 1, 2005."

How to revoke or amend

Under 602(3), the settlor may revoke or amend a revocable trust:

• "By substantial compliance with a method provided in the terms of the trust"; or
• if the terms provide no method, or the method is not expressly made exclusive, by "A later will or codicil that expressly refers to the trust or specifically devises property that would otherwise have passed according to the terms of the trust," or by "Any other method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of the settlor's intent."

Where more than one settlor created or funded the trust, 602(2) applies special rules: each settlor may revoke or amend as to the portion attributable to that settlor's contribution (community property follows its own rule), and the trustee must notify the other settlors of a revocation or amendment by fewer than all of them.

Creditors

Under 18-B 505(1)(A), "During the lifetime of the settlor, the property of a revocable trust is subject to claims of the settlor's creditors." After the settlor's death, 505(1)(C) makes the property of a trust that was revocable at death subject to the settlor's creditors' claims, costs of administration, funeral expenses and statutory allowances to a surviving spouse and children "to the extent the settlor's probate estate is inadequate to satisfy those claims, costs, expenses and allowances," subject to the settlor's right to direct the source of payment.

Certification of trust

Under 18-B 1013(1), "Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary, the trustee may furnish to the person a certification of trust." It may include items such as the trust's existence and the date the instrument was executed, the settlor's identity, the currently acting trustee, the trustee's powers, and whether the trust is revocable.

After the settlor dies: notice and the contest deadline

Under 18-B 813(2)(C), within 60 days after a trustee learns that a formerly revocable trust has become irrevocable, "whether by the death of the settlor or otherwise," the trustee must notify the qualified beneficiaries of the trust's existence, the identity of the settlor, the right to request a copy of the trust instrument and the right to a trustee's report. Under 813(5), this duty applies to a revocable trust that becomes irrevocable on or after July 1, 2005.

Section 604(1) sets the contest deadline:

"A person may commence a judicial proceeding to contest the validity of a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death within the earlier of: A. Three years after the settlor's death; or B. One hundred and twenty days after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice informing the person of the trust's existence, of the trustee's name and address and of the time allowed for commencing a proceeding." (18-B M.R.S. 604(1))

Pour-over wills

A pour-over will leaves property to the trustee of a trust. Maine's version of the Uniform Testamentary Additions to Trusts Act is 18-C M.R.S. 2-510. A will may validly devise property to the trustee of a trust established during the testator's lifetime, by the testator or someone else, or at the testator's death if the trust is identified in the will and its terms are in a written instrument other than a will. Under 2-510(1), "The devise is not invalid because the trust is amendable or revocable or because the trust was amended after the execution of the will or the testator's death."

Two further rules apply unless the will provides otherwise: the property becomes part of the receiving trust rather than a separate testamentary trust (2-510(2)), and "a revocation or termination of the trust before the testator's death causes the devise to lapse" (2-510(3)).

Maine wills and trusts at a glance

Making a will in practice

The site's free Maine will-maker tool can help draft a basic will. Whatever produces the document, signing must follow section 2-502, and the self-proving step in section 2-503 is a separate procedure before an officer authorized to administer oaths. Complex estates, blended families, business interests or tax questions are reasons to consult a lawyer licensed in Maine. The tool is not legal advice.

Related pages

• Wills and trusts laws by state
• Maine probate
• Maine small estate affidavit
• Maine power of attorney laws

This article provides general legal information about Maine law on wills and revocable trusts as of 2026-10-20. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Maine or the register of probate in your county.

Last updated: 2026-10-20.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many witnesses does a will need in Maine?

A witnessed will needs at least two witnesses, each of whom signs within a reasonable time after witnessing the testator's signing or acknowledgment (18-C M.R.S. 2-502(1)). A holographic will, with the signature and material portions in the testator's handwriting, is valid whether or not witnessed (2-502(2)).

Is a handwritten will valid in Maine?

Yes. Under 18-C M.R.S. 2-502(2), a will that does not meet the witnessed-will rules is valid as a holographic will, witnessed or not, if the signature and material portions are in the testator's handwriting.

Does a will have to be notarized in Maine?

No. Section 2-502 does not require a notary. A notary or other officer authorized to administer oaths is used to make a will self-proved under 2-503, which can be done at signing or later.

Can a beneficiary witness a will in Maine?

Yes. Under 18-C M.R.S. 2-504(2), the signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any portion of it.

Are oral wills valid in Maine?

No. Section 2-502 requires a will to be in writing or, for a holographic will, to have its signature and material portions in the testator's handwriting, and Part 5 of Article 2 contains no oral-will section.

Can I make an electronic will in Maine?

Part 5 of Article 2 of the Maine Probate Code has no electronic-will or remote-witnessing section, and 2-502 requires a will in writing signed by the testator and two witnesses (or a holographic will). Video witnessing was allowed from April 8, 2020 to July 1, 2023 under emergency rules that have ended; see the remote witnessing section.

Does divorce revoke a will in Maine?

Divorce or annulment revokes revocable provisions in favor of the former spouse and the former spouse's relatives, unless the instrument, a court order or a property-division contract provides otherwise (18-C M.R.S. 2-804(2)). The same section reaches other governing instruments, has a separation-decree exception and revives the provisions on remarriage; see the divorce section above.

Is a living trust revocable in Maine?

Yes, unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable (18-B M.R.S. 602(1)). That default does not apply to a trust created under an instrument executed before July 1, 2005.

How long do you have to contest a revocable trust in Maine?

Under 18-B M.R.S. 604(1), within the earlier of three years after the settlor's death or 120 days after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and the notice that section describes.

Can a spouse be left out of a will in Maine?

A surviving spouse of a decedent domiciled in Maine has a right to elect 50% of the marital-property portion of the augmented estate (18-C M.R.S. 2-202(1)), a portion that grows with the length of the marriage (2-203(2)). The petition is due within 9 months after death or 6 months after probate of the will, whichever is later (2-211(1)); a petition filed more than 9 months after death leaves the decedent's nonprobate transfers out of the computation unless the court extended the time on a petition filed within 9 months (2-211(2)).