Small Estate Affidavit Thresholds & Procedure in Maine
At a glance
| Governing law | 18-C M.R.S. § 3-1201 (collection of personal property by affidavit) and § 3-1202 (effect of the affidavit); the dollar figure itself is set by a separate cost-of-living formula in § 1-108, not stated as a fixed number in § 3-1201 itself. Separately, §§ 3-1203 and 3-1204 let a personal representative in an ALREADY-OPEN estate close it out via a sworn statement once its value falls under exempt allowances: a distinct closing shortcut, not a way to avoid opening probate in the first place |
|---|---|
| Dollar threshold | $52,500 for a decedent who died in 2026, but this is a DYNAMIC, year-of-death-specific figure, not a flat number. § 3-1201(1)(A) sets a $40,000 base figure 'adjusted for inflation pursuant to section 1-108'; § 1-108 recalculates it annually against the CPI-U, using 2017 as the reference base year, for every death after 2018. Critically, the applicable figure is locked to the CALENDAR YEAR THE DECEDENT DIED, not the year the affidavit is actually used, an heir settling a 2024 death today still uses that year's $49,700 figure, not the current 2026 figure. As of 2026-07-06, the officially published year-by-year figures are: 2024 death, $49,700; 2025 death, $51,100; 2026 death, $52,500. A 2025 amendment (PL 2025, c. 76, signed 2025-05-16) also added an affirmative statutory duty (§ 3-1201(3)) requiring the county probate courts to publish the current adjusted figure themselves each year |
| Court filing required? | No for the § 3-1201 affidavit: it's presented directly to the bank, employer, transfer agent, or other holder, never filed with any court. The separate §§ 3-1203/3-1204 mechanism, by contrast, requires an estate that's already open under full administration with a court-appointed personal representative; that representative then files a sworn closing statement with the court rather than a private affidavit to a third party |
| Waiting period after death | 30 days after the decedent's death for the § 3-1201 affidavit (measured from the date of death itself, not from any appointment or filing). The §§ 3-1203/3-1204 closing-shortcut track instead runs off the inventory and appraisal of an estate that's already open, not a fixed number of days after death |
| Works with a will, intestacy, or both? | Both: § 3-1201 applies to 'a person claiming to be the successor of the decedent' without distinguishing a will beneficiary from an intestate heir, so it works the same way whichever applies. The §§ 3-1203/3-1204 closing shortcut likewise applies to an already-open estate regardless of whether it's testate or intestate |
| Does it cover real property? | No. § 3-1201's own text limits the affidavit to 'personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or chose in action': no mention of real estate anywhere in the section, and the value test itself is keyed only to the estate value the affidavit can actually reach. Transferring real property requires opening a probate case (informal or formal administration), not this affidavit |
| Signature formalities | Sworn and notarized. Maine's own official form (AF-102, maineprobate.net) has the affiant swear the statements are true before a notary public or attorney-at-law, consistent with an affidavit generally requiring an oath; the statute's own text doesn't add a separate witness requirement beyond the sworn oath itself |
| Protection for the bank/holder | Strong and explicit. § 3-1202 discharges the person who pays, delivers, transfers, or issues property under a valid-looking affidavit 'to the same extent as if the person dealt with a personal representative of the decedent,' with no duty to inquire into the truth of any statement in the affidavit. The person who received the property, not the holder who handed it over, stays 'answerable and accountable' to any personal representative or other person with a superior right |
Requirements one by one
Governing law
18-C M.R.S. § 3-1201 creates the affidavit, and § 3-1202 spells out the protection it gives a bank or other holder that relies on it. The dollar figure itself isn't written as a number in § 3-1201 — it cross-references a separate cost-of-living formula in § 1-108. A different, later-stage mechanism, §§ 3-1203 and 3-1204, lets a personal representative in an estate that's ALREADY open under full administration close it out with a sworn statement once the estate's value falls under certain statutory allowances — a closing shortcut for an open case, not an alternative way to avoid opening probate in the first place.
Dollar threshold
$52,500 is the figure for a decedent who died in 2026. But this number moves every year: § 3-1201 sets a $40,000 base figure that § 1-108 then adjusts annually against the Consumer Price Index, using 2017 as the reference year. The part that catches people off guard is which year's figure applies — it's keyed to the year the person DIED, not the year someone gets around to using the affidavit. An estate for someone who died in 2024 still uses that year's $49,700 figure today, even though the current 2026 figure is higher. A 2025 law (effective the same year) also added a requirement that Maine's county probate courts publish the current adjusted figure on their own website every year, so the number is always independently checkable rather than something you have to calculate yourself.
Court filing required?
No. The affidavit goes straight to the bank, employer, stock transfer agent, or whoever else is holding the decedent's property — no court ever sees it. The separate §§ 3-1203/3-1204 mechanism is different: it only applies once an estate is already open with a court-appointed personal representative, who then files a sworn statement with the court itself to close the case, not a private document handed to a third party.
Waiting period after death
30 days. The affidavit can't be presented until 30 days have passed since the date of death — a straightforward, death-triggered wait, unlike the length-of-administration timing some other states use for their closing-shortcut provisions.
Works with a will, intestacy, or both?
Both. § 3-1201 covers anyone "claiming to be the successor of the decedent" without separately defining that term by will-beneficiary status or intestate-heir status — it works the same way either way.
Does it cover real property?
No. The statute's own list of what the affidavit can reach — "personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or chose in action" — never mentions real estate, and the dollar threshold itself only measures what the affidavit can actually collect. A house, land, or other real property interest still requires opening a probate case.
Signature formalities
Sworn and notarized. Maine's own official form for this exact affidavit (AF-102) has the affiant swear the statements are true before a notary public or attorney-at-law. The statute's text doesn't spell out a separate witness requirement on top of the oath itself.
Protection for the bank/holder
Strong and explicit. § 3-1202 discharges anyone who pays, delivers, transfers, or issues property under a properly completed affidavit "to the same extent as if the person dealt with a personal representative," and says they don't have to check whether the affidavit's statements are actually true. It's the person who RECEIVED the property, not the bank that handed it over, who stays on the hook to a later-appointed personal representative or anyone else with a better claim.
What trips people up
The moving dollar figure is the single biggest source of confusion. Because the threshold is tied to the calendar year of death rather than the year the affidavit is actually used, an estate can look like it qualifies under today's number and not actually qualify — or vice versa — depending entirely on which year the person died. Always check the figure for the specific year of death, not just whatever number a search engine returns first; several secondary sources online show a single prior year's figure as if it still applied. And because the affidavit never reaches real estate no matter how the numbers work out, families sometimes discover only after gathering everything else that the house still needs a separate probate filing.
Common questions
Where can I find the exact dollar figure for the year someone died? Maine's county probate courts are now required by statute to publish the current inflation-adjusted figure on their shared website every year, alongside the underlying calculation.
Does the affidavit need to be filed anywhere? No. It's a private document you present directly to the bank or other institution holding the property — it isn't filed with any court.
Can more than one heir use separate affidavits for their own share? The statute doesn't limit an affidavit to a single successor claiming the entire estate; a person claiming to be a successor can present an affidavit for the property they're entitled to, so multiple heirs can each use their own.
Statutes and sources
- 18-C M.R.S. § 3-1201 (Collection of personal property by affidavit) — https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/18-C/title18-Csec3-1201.html (accessed 2026-07-06)
- 18-C M.R.S. § 3-1202 (Effect of affidavit) — https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/18-c/title18-Csec3-1202.html (accessed 2026-07-06)
- 18-C M.R.S. § 1-108 (Cost-of-living adjustment of certain dollar amounts) — https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/18-C/title18-Csec1-108.html (accessed 2026-07-06)
- Maine Probate Code Cost-of-Living Adjustment Calculations (2020-2026), maineprobate.net (the official shared website of Maine's 16 county probate courts) — https://www.maineprobate.net/Forms2019/Cost%20of%20living%20calculations%20under%20Section%201-108%20(2020%20-%202026).pdf (accessed 2026-07-06)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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