Maine: Spousal Elective Share Requirements

Requirements one by one

The percentage rises with relationship length

18-C M.R.S. § 2-202 sets the elective amount at 50% of the marital-property
portion. 18-C M.R.S. § 2-203 starts that portion at 3% before one year,
rises through
the statutory schedule, and reaches 100% after 15 years. The effective share of
the entire augmented estate therefore ranges from 1.5% to 50% before spouse
credits are applied.

Maine does not create a supplemental elective-share amount. Although § 2-209
retains model-act references to a “supplemental elective-share amount,” the
current amount section at § 2-202 creates only the percentage share.

The 2025 amendment to § 2-201(3) matters at the eligibility line: “marriage” now
includes a registered domestic partnership and a legal union formed elsewhere
that supplies substantially the same rights, benefits, and responsibilities as
marriage.

Four property groups make up the augmented estate

Section 2-203 combines the net probate estate, the decedent's nonprobate
transfers to others, nonprobate transfers to the spouse, and the spouse's own
property and hypothetical transfers.

Under § 2-205, the transfer-to-others component reaches named powers, joint and
POD/TOD property, insurance, retained possession, income, or powers, and
specified transfers during the two years before death. The general two-year
gift threshold is dynamic: it includes value above 50% of the federal annual
gift-tax exclusion for the applicable date, measured per donee in either year.

18-C M.R.S. § 2-206 and § 2-207 bring in nonprobate property passing to the spouse and
spouse-owned or spouse-transferred property. Federal Social Security is
excluded, and enforceable claims reduce the spouse component.

Valuation has a discretionary-trust rule

Section 2-204 reduces the probate component by funeral and administration
expenses, homestead and family allowances, exempt property, and enforceable
claims. 18-C M.R.S. § 2-208 excludes transfers for adequate consideration and those
joined in or consented to in writing by the spouse. It also reduces each
nonprobate category by claims, uses commuted values for listed future benefits,
and includes overlapping property only once at the highest value.

Maine adds a specific trust presumption. A spouse's interest in a trust where
both income and principal distributions are discretionary is presumed worth
half the trust unless another value is proved. If the spouse is sole trustee and
the discretion has no ascertainable standard, the interest is presumed worth
the full trust.

The later deadline can lose nonprobate property

Under § 2-211, the ordinary deadline is the later of nine months after death
or six months after probate of the will. The spouse, conservator, or agent under
a power of attorney files the petition in court and mails or delivers it to the
personal representative. Hearing notice goes to estate interests and recipients
whose interests will be adversely affected.

A filing after nine months ordinarily removes the decedent's nonprobate
transfers to others. To preserve them, an extension petition and notice to all
interested nonprobate recipients must occur within nine months. The court may
extend for cause. The demand may be withdrawn before final determination.

18-C M.R.S. § 2-214 supplies a separate payor-notice route. Written notice of an
intended or filed petition goes to the payor's main office or home by registered
or certified mail with return receipt, or by summons-style service. Before that
notice, a payor acting in good faith on the governing instrument is protected.

Waiver, credits, and contribution

The spouse must be living when the petition is filed. 18-C M.R.S. § 2-212 allows a
conservator or agent under a power of attorney to act; it does not list a
guardian.

18-C M.R.S. § 2-213 permits whole or partial waiver before or after marriage by a
signed writing. Enforcement fails if execution was involuntary, or if the
waiver was unconscionable and the statute's disclosure, written-waiver, and
knowledge conditions all apply. General “all rights” language ordinarily also
waives allowances and benefits under intestacy or an earlier will.

Under § 2-209, will and intestate property, nonprobate property passing from the
decedent, and the marital-property portion of the spouse's included property
are credited first. Probate and primary nonprobate classes follow, then the
remaining transfers. 18-C M.R.S. § 2-210 limits personal contribution to original
recipients and donees while holding property or proceeds; they may return the
proportional property or pay its value.

Allowances remain additional

The election does not automatically forfeit will benefits; § 2-209 credits them
toward the share. Section 18-C M.R.S. § 2-402 provides a $22,500 homestead
allowance, § 2-403 provides up to $15,000 of exempt tangible property, and
§ 2-404 provides a reasonable family allowance. They are additional to the
elective share, although express in-lieu language in a will can replace the
allowance or exempt-property benefit.

What trips people up

• Maine has no supplemental floor. The current amount section creates only
  50% of the marital-property portion despite stray supplemental references in
  the payment section.
• The percentage is multiplied twice. The relationship-length percentage
  produces the marital-property portion; the elective amount is half of that.
• The spouse's property affects both calculation and satisfaction. It enters
  the augmented estate, and its marital-property portion is then credited under
  § 2-209.
• An extension must protect nonprobate reach. The later probate deadline
  alone does not preserve the decedent's transfers after nine months from death.

Common questions

Does a registered domestic partner qualify? Section 2-201's current
definition includes a registered domestic partnership and a qualifying
equivalent legal union.

Is the 50% figure a flat half of all property? No. It is half of the
marital-property portion, which ranges from 3% to 100% of the augmented estate.

Does filing reject gifts under the will? The statute credits testate and
intestate benefits first. It does not say that filing itself renounces them.

Can an agent make the election? Yes. Sections 2-211 and 2-212 expressly list
an agent acting under a power of attorney, along with a conservator.

Statutes and sources

• 18-C M.R.S. §§ 2-201 to 2-203 — marriage definition, amount, domicile,
  additional benefits, four-part augmented estate, and relationship-length
  schedule. Official Article 2
  contents
  (accessed 2026-08-02); the frontmatter records each per-section URL.
• 18-C M.R.S. §§ 2-204 to 2-208 — probate deductions, decedent and spouse
  nonprobate transfers, spouse property, exclusions, claims, valuation,
  discretionary trusts, and overlapping property. Official Article 2
  contents
  (accessed 2026-08-02); the frontmatter records each per-section URL.
• 18-C M.R.S. §§ 2-209 to 2-214 — payment order, recipient liability,
  deadline, extension, right holder, waiver, payor notice, and protection.
  Official Article 2
  contents
  (accessed 2026-08-02); the frontmatter records each per-section URL.
• 18-C M.R.S. §§ 2-402 to 2-404 — homestead, exempt-property, and family
  allowances. Official §
  2-402,
  official §
  2-403,
  and official §
  2-404
  (accessed 2026-08-02).