Payable-on-Death Deposit-Account Beneficiary Rules in Maine
At a glance
| Accounts covered | Checking, savings, certificates of deposit and share accounts under the multiple-party-account rules; business, agent/trustee and separately established fiduciary accounts are excluded (18-C §§ 6-201, 6-202). |
|---|---|
| How the POD designation is made | A single-party or multiple-party account may have a POD designation; the statute supplies a substantially prescribed account form, but also governs other account forms (18-C §§ 6-203, 6-204). |
| Who may be named | A person named to receive sums after all parties die, or a person for whom a party is named trustee (18-C § 6-201(3)). |
| Owner and beneficiary rights before death | A party has a present right to request payment; account terms govern rights at death, and a signed lifetime notice can change terms or stop or vary payment (18-C §§ 6-201(6), 6-213). |
| Joint owner's priority over payee | Surviving parties take under the multiple-party-account rule; a POD designation in a multiple-party account without survivorship is ineffective (18-C § 6-212(1), (3)). |
| If a payee dies first | Beneficiaries must survive the sole party or last surviving party; if none survives, the deposit belongs to the last surviving party's estate (18-C § 6-212(2)). |
| Shares among surviving payees | Two or more surviving beneficiaries take equal undivided shares, with no later survivorship between beneficiaries (18-C § 6-212(2)). |
| Changing the designation or using a will | A party may sign and deliver a lifetime notice to change account terms or stop or vary payment; a will cannot alter a POD designation (18-C § 6-213). |
| Proof, payment, and bank discharge | On request, the institution may pay beneficiaries on proof they survived all parties, or the estate route on proof the deceased party was the survivor; conforming payment discharges the institution (18-C §§ 6-223, 6-226). |
Requirements one by one
Covered accounts and account forms
Maine's definitions in 18-C § 6-201 include checking, savings, certificates of deposit and share accounts. The statute permits POD designations on single-party and multiple-party accounts under 18-C § 6-203. Its model form in 18-C § 6-204 is an example of an account contract that establishes the account type. Business-purpose, agent or trustee, and separately established fiduciary accounts are outside this Part under 18-C § 6-202.
Joint ownership and beneficiary shares
Surviving parties take under the multiple-party-account rules. A POD designation is ineffective on a multiple-party account that has no right of survivorship. After the sole party or last surviving party dies, surviving POD beneficiaries take equal undivided shares. One beneficiary's later death does not enlarge the others' shares by survivorship; if no beneficiary survives, the last party's estate takes.
Changes and payment
A party may sign and deliver a notice during life to change account terms or stop or vary payment. A will cannot alter the POD designation. The institution may pay a beneficiary after proof of survival of all parties, or the deceased party's personal representative, heirs or devisees after proof that the deceased was the survivor of everyone named on the account, under 18-C § 6-223. Payment in accordance with the account terms discharges the institution under 18-C § 6-226.
What trips people up
The survivorship requirement applies to the account parties, while the beneficiaries receive equal undivided shares without a later beneficiary survivorship right. Those are separate stages under 18-C § 6-212.
Common questions
Can a will replace a Maine POD beneficiary?
No. A will cannot alter a POD designation under 18-C § 6-213(2).
What does the bank need before paying a beneficiary?
The beneficiary must present proof of death showing that the beneficiary survived all persons named as parties under 18-C § 6-223(2).
Statutes and sources
Current official Maine Title 18-C Article 6, including §§ 6-201–204, 6-212–213, 6-223 and 6-226, accessed 2026-10-08.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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