Court Safekeeping of Original Wills in Maine
At a glance
| Statutory safekeeping route | Court may not accept safekeeping deposits after Sept. 19, 1997; older deposits remain governed (§ 2-514). |
|---|---|
| Who may deposit | No new depositor under the statutory court route after the cutoff (§ 2-514). |
| Proper court or clerk | Legacy deposit was with the court in the register's office (§ 2-514). |
| Envelope and filing record | Legacy conservator examination must maintain confidentiality and reseal the will (§ 2-514). |
| Fee and receipt | Section 2-514 states no fee or receipt for the legacy deposit. |
| Custody before death | Protected testator's conservator may examine under confidential, resealing procedures (§ 2-514). |
| Retrieval before death | Legacy will deliverable only to testator or person authorized in signed writing (§ 2-514). |
| Notice after death | On learning of death, court notifies person designated to receive legacy will (§ 2-514). |
| Opening and release after death | Court delivers legacy will to designee on request or may deliver to appropriate court (§ 2-514); other custodians have prompt-delivery duty (§ 2-515). |
Current custody procedure
Under 18-C M.R.S. § 2-514, a court may not accept a will for safekeeping after September 19, 1997. The same section continues to govern wills placed with the court in the register's office before that date. It is a rule for older deposits, not an invitation to make a new one.
Requirements one by one
Lifetime retrieval
For a legacy deposit, § 2-514 permits delivery only to the testator or someone authorized by the testator's signed writing. A conservator examining a protected testator's deposited will may do so under procedures that preserve confidentiality as far as possible and leave the will resealed on deposit.
Notice after death
Once informed of death, the court must notify any designated recipient. Under § 2-514 it then delivers the legacy will to that person on request, or may deliver it to the appropriate court.
What trips people up
The broader custodian duty in § 2-515 still matters outside the legacy court deposit: after death, a person holding a will delivers it with reasonable promptness to someone able to secure probate or, if none is known, to an appropriate court for filing and recording until probate is sought. The statute protects a custodian who failed to learn of the death, but provides damages for willful non-delivery or destruction and contempt for disobeying a delivery order.
Common questions
Can a conservator take home a protected person's deposited will? Section 2-514 allows examination under confidentiality and resealing procedures; it says the will remains on deposit after examination.
Must the court send an older deposited will to the designated person automatically? The court notifies that person after learning of death and delivers the will on request. It may instead deliver the will to the appropriate court under § 2-514.
Statutes and sources
- 18-C M.R.S. §§ 2-514–2-515: current official text, quoted with source URLs and access dates above.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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