Complex Will with Trust - Maine

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

WITH TESTAMENTARY FAMILY TRUST

of

[TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Testator and Family Information
2. Revocation and General Intent
3. Personal Representative and Estate Administration
4. Specific Gifts
5. Residuary Estate and Testamentary Trust
6. Family Trust Terms
7. Trustee Administration
8. Guardian Appointment
9. Fiduciary Remedies and Dispute Provisions
10. General Provisions
11. Witnessed and Self-Proved Execution

1. TESTATOR AND FAMILY INFORMATION

1.1 Testator

I, [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], residing at [ADDRESS], declare this instrument to be my Last Will and Testament. I am at least eighteen years of age or a legally emancipated minor, and I am of sound mind as required by 18-C M.R.S. § 2-501.

1.2 Family

My spouse is [SPOUSE FULL LEGAL NAME / “I am not married”].

My children are:

1. [CHILD 1 FULL LEGAL NAME], born [DATE];
2. [CHILD 2 FULL LEGAL NAME], born [DATE]; and
3. [ADDITIONAL CHILDREN OR “None”].

For this Will, “descendants” includes legally adopted descendants. “By family branch” means that a deceased descendant's share passes to that descendant's then-living descendants in equal shares at the first generation with living members.

1.3 Survival Requirement

Except where this Will expressly provides otherwise, a beneficiary must survive me by [30] days to take under this Will. A beneficiary who does not satisfy that requirement shall be treated as having predeceased me.

2. REVOCATION AND GENERAL INTENT

2.1 Revocation

I revoke all prior wills and codicils made by me.

2.2 Dispositive Intent

I intend to dispose of property over which I have testamentary power, subject to enforceable debts, expenses, taxes, surviving-spouse rights, ownership rights, beneficiary designations, and other mandatory rules that apply at my death.

2.3 Governing Law

This Will and each testamentary trust created by it shall be governed by Maine law, except where another jurisdiction's mandatory law applies to particular property or administration.

3. PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND ESTATE ADMINISTRATION

3.1 Appointment

I nominate [PRIMARY PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE NAME], of [ADDRESS], as Personal Representative of my estate.

If that person does not serve or ceases to serve, I nominate [SUCCESSOR PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE NAME], of [ADDRESS], as successor.

A person given priority by a probated will has first appointment priority under 18-C M.R.S. § 3-203, subject to statutory qualification and court proceedings.

3.2 Bond

I do not require my Personal Representative to furnish bond. This direction remains subject to 18-C M.R.S. § 3-603 and any bond the court or another mandatory rule requires.

3.3 Duties and Powers

My Personal Representative shall settle and distribute my estate expeditiously and efficiently, consistently with the estate's best interests and the fiduciary duties in 18-C M.R.S. § 3-703.

Except as restricted by this Will, another mandatory rule, or a court order, the Personal Representative may exercise the powers in 18-C M.R.S. § 3-715, including authority to:

1. retain, invest, acquire, sell, exchange, lease, mortgage, manage, improve, partition, or abandon estate property;
2. deposit funds, borrow money, insure property, pay valid claims and expenses, and compromise obligations;
3. employ attorneys, auditors, investment advisers, and other agents;
4. prosecute or defend claims and proceedings;
5. continue or incorporate a business within the statute's conditions; and
6. distribute assets in cash, in kind, or partly in each form, subject to applicable distribution rules.

3.4 Debts, Expenses, and Taxes

My Personal Representative shall pay enforceable debts, funeral and administration expenses, and taxes properly chargeable to my estate. Maine counsel shall insert or confirm any intended tax-apportionment direction before execution: [TAX APPORTIONMENT TERMS].

4. SPECIFIC GIFTS

4.1 Listed Gifts

I make the following gifts, subject to valid liens and ownership rights:

1. [DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY OR AMOUNT] to [BENEFICIARY];
2. [DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY OR AMOUNT] to [BENEFICIARY]; and
3. [ADDITIONAL GIFTS OR “None”].

If a beneficiary of a specific gift does not survive me as required by Section 1.3 and this Will does not provide a substitute recipient, that gift becomes part of the Residuary Estate, subject to any mandatory anti-lapse rule.

4.2 Separate Tangible-Property List

I may leave a written statement or list disposing of items of tangible personal property other than money under 18-C M.R.S. § 2-512. To qualify under that section, the list must be in my handwriting or signed by me and must describe the items and devisees with reasonable certainty. I may prepare or alter it before or after signing this Will.

5. RESIDUARY ESTATE AND TESTAMENTARY TRUST

5.1 Residuary Gift

I give all the rest, residue, and remainder of my probate estate to the Trustee named below, IN TRUST, to be held as the “[TESTATOR SURNAME] Family Trust” under Sections 5 through 7 of this Will.

5.2 Creation and Funding

The Family Trust is a testamentary trust created at my death. Its property consists of the Residuary Estate and any other property validly transferred to it.

5.3 Trustee Appointments

I appoint [PRIMARY TRUSTEE NAME], of [ADDRESS], as Trustee.

If that person does not serve or ceases to serve, I appoint the following successors in order:

1. [FIRST SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE NAME];
2. [SECOND SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE NAME]; and
3. [CORPORATE FIDUCIARY OR SELECTION METHOD].

If a required vacancy remains, it shall be filled in the order provided by 18-B M.R.S. § 704: a successor designated by this Will, a person unanimously appointed by the qualified beneficiaries, and then a court appointee.

5.4 Trustee Bond

This Will does not require a Trustee to give bond. Under 18-B M.R.S. § 702, bond is required only if the court finds it necessary to protect beneficiaries or this Will requires it and the court has not dispensed with the requirement.

6. FAMILY TRUST TERMS

6.1 Spouse's Lifetime Share

If my spouse survives me as required by Section 1.3, the Trustee shall administer the Family Trust during my spouse's lifetime as follows:

1. distribute all net income to my spouse at least quarterly;
2. distribute as much principal as the Trustee determines advisable for my spouse's health, education, maintenance, or support; and
3. consider my spouse's other resources only to the extent the Trustee considers appropriate.

If I am not married at death or my spouse does not survive me as required, the Trust shall proceed directly under Section 6.2.

6.2 Division After Spouse's Death

At my spouse's death, or immediately at my death if Section 6.1 does not apply, the Trustee shall divide the remaining Trust property into equal shares, one for each then-living child of mine and one for each deceased child of mine who has then-living descendants.

The share allocated to a deceased child shall pass among that child's descendants by family branch. If that child has no then-living descendants, the share shall be reallocated among the other shares in the same manner.

6.3 Separate Trust for a Child or Descendant

Each share allocated to a child or descendant shall be held as a separate trust. The Trustee may distribute income and principal for that beneficiary's health, education, maintenance, or support.

Subject to the Trustee's authority to retain a reasonable reserve, the Trustee shall distribute:

1. one-third of the beneficiary's separate trust at age [25];
2. one-half of the remaining balance at age [30]; and
3. the remaining balance at age [35].

If the beneficiary has already reached a stated age when the separate trust is created, the corresponding distribution shall be made after the Trustee completes a reasonable administrative review.

6.4 Death Before Final Distribution

If a beneficiary dies before receiving the beneficiary's entire separate trust, the remaining property shall pass:

1. to that beneficiary's then-living descendants by family branch;
2. if none, to the then-living descendants of the nearest ancestor of that beneficiary who is also my descendant; or
3. if none, to [ALTERNATE BENEFICIARY OR CHARITY].

6.5 Spendthrift Provision

Each beneficiary's interest is held subject to a spendthrift trust. Both voluntary and involuntary transfers are restrained before actual receipt to the extent provided by 18-B M.R.S. § 502 and the other mandatory rules governing creditor claims.

6.6 Perpetuities Savings Clause

Maine's statutory rule validates a nonvested property interest if it is certain to vest or terminate no later than twenty-one years after the death of an individual then alive or if it actually vests or terminates within ninety years after creation. See 33 M.R.S. § 111.

Unless Maine counsel intentionally confirms another valid duration, every trust created by this Will shall terminate no later than twenty-one years after the death of the last survivor of my spouse and my descendants who are living at my death. If no such person survives me, every trust shall terminate no later than twenty-one years after its creation. The Trustee shall distribute the remaining property to the persons then entitled to receive or benefit from it in proportions that most closely carry out this Will. A court may apply the reformation authorized by 33 M.R.S. § 113.

7. TRUSTEE ADMINISTRATION

7.1 Governing Duties

The Trustee shall administer each trust in good faith according to its terms, purposes, beneficiary interests, and the Maine Uniform Trust Code as required by 18-B M.R.S. § 801. The Trustee shall act solely in the beneficiaries' interests under § 802 and with the reasonable care, skill, and caution required by § 804.

7.2 Trustee Powers

Subject to those duties, the Trustee may exercise the powers in 18-B M.R.S. §§ 815 and 816 without prior court authorization except where this Will, a mandatory rule, or a court order provides otherwise. Those powers include authority to:

1. collect, retain, acquire, sell, exchange, partition, lease, improve, or abandon Trust property;
2. deposit Trust funds, borrow money, and mortgage or pledge Trust property;
3. continue a business, exercise ownership rights, and insure Trust property and appropriate persons;
4. pay or contest claims, taxes, compensation, and administration expenses;
5. make fair and reasonable loans or distributions for a beneficiary as the statute permits;
6. settle appropriate disputes through mediation, arbitration, or another alternative-dispute process;
7. prosecute or defend actions and claims; and
8. divide, distribute, terminate, and wind up each trust.

7.3 Information and Reports

The Trustee shall keep qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed and comply with 18-B M.R.S. § 813. This includes the section's sixty-day notices when applicable and an annual and termination report to distributees or permissible distributees and to other qualified beneficiaries who request one. Each report shall contain the property, liabilities, receipts, disbursements, compensation, asset listing, and feasible values and tax bases required by the statute.

7.4 Compensation

The Trustee is entitled to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances under 18-B M.R.S. § 708 unless Maine counsel inserts a reviewed compensation schedule here: [COMPENSATION TERMS OR “Reasonable compensation under applicable law”].

8. GUARDIAN APPOINTMENT

If I have a minor child for whom my appointment may operate, I appoint [PRIMARY GUARDIAN NAME] as guardian and [SUCCESSOR GUARDIAN NAME] as successor guardian under 18-C M.R.S. § 5-202.

This appointment remains subject to the rights of any other parent, the guardian's timely acceptance and notice, any objection, court confirmation, and the other procedures stated in §§ 5-202 and 5-203.

9. FIDUCIARY REMEDIES AND DISPUTE PROVISIONS

9.1 Removal and Remedies

This Will imposes no mandatory notice-and-cure period before a person seeks relief for breach of trust. Trustee removal is governed by 18-B M.R.S. § 706. Remedies for a breach that has occurred or may occur are governed by § 1001 and may include compelled performance, injunction, restoration, accounting, suspension, removal, reduced compensation, and other appropriate relief.

9.2 No Blanket Exculpation or Indemnity

This Will does not create a blanket indemnity or relieve a Trustee from liability for breach of trust. Any exculpatory term remains subject to 18-B M.R.S. § 1008, including its limits for bad faith, reckless indifference, abuse of a fiduciary or confidential relationship, and Trustee-drafted terms.

9.3 Personal Liability to Third Persons

A Trustee's personal liability on a properly entered contract, for torts, or for obligations arising from ownership or control of Trust property is governed by 18-B M.R.S. § 1010. Nothing in this Will converts those conditional rules into a blanket limitation of all liabilities to Trust assets.

9.4 No Mandatory Arbitration or Jury Waiver

This Will does not require arbitration and does not waive any jury right that may otherwise exist. The Trustee may use appropriate alternative dispute resolution under 18-B M.R.S. § 816(23), and § 203(2) expressly provides that trust jurisdiction does not preclude judicial or nonjudicial alternative dispute resolution.

9.5 Courts With Jurisdiction

Under 18-B M.R.S. § 203(1), the Maine Probate Court and Superior Court have concurrent jurisdiction of all proceedings in Maine involving a trust. This Will does not make either court the exclusive forum or enlarge either court's authority.

10. GENERAL PROVISIONS

10.1 Digital Assets and Electronic Communications

Under 18-C M.R.S. § 10-104(2), I allow disclosure to my Personal Representative and Trustee of all digital assets in which I have a transferable right or interest, including the content of electronic communications, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. My fiduciaries may identify, preserve, manage, transfer, or dispose of those assets for estate or Trust administration.

This direction remains subject to a qualifying online-tool direction that overrides a contrary direction in this Will under § 10-104(1), applicable federal law, custodian procedures, account terms that remain effective, and the scope of my own rights. It does not authorize circumvention of security controls.

10.2 Severability

If a provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain effective. A court may apply any reformation or equitable remedy authorized by law; this Section does not itself enlarge a court's authority.

10.3 Entire Will

This instrument contains my testamentary directions, together with any later codicil executed with the formalities required by law.

10.4 Execution Method

The block below is designed for a written, witnessed, and simultaneously self-proved will under 18-C M.R.S. §§ 2-502 and 2-503. Do not alter the signing method, witness sequence, or officer's certificate without Maine counsel confirming compliance with current law.

11. WITNESSED AND SELF-PROVED EXECUTION

State of Maine

County of [COUNTY]

I, [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], the Testator, on this [DAY] day of [MONTH], [YEAR], being first duly sworn, declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as my Last Will and Testament; that I sign it willingly, or willingly direct another to sign for me, as my free and voluntary act; and that I am eighteen years of age or older or a legally emancipated minor, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.

Testator signature: ___________________________________

Printed name: [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME]

We, [WITNESS 1 NAME] and [WITNESS 2 NAME], the witnesses, being first duly sworn, declare to the undersigned authority that the Testator signed and executed this instrument as the Testator's Last Will and Testament; that the Testator signed it willingly, or willingly directed another to sign for the Testator; that each of us, in the presence and hearing of the Testator, signs this Will as witness to the Testator's signing; and that, to the best of our knowledge, the Testator is eighteen years of age or older or a legally emancipated minor, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.

Subscribed, sworn to, and acknowledged before me by [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], the Testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by [WITNESS 1 NAME] and [WITNESS 2 NAME], witnesses, this [DAY] day of [MONTH], [YEAR].

Officer signature: ___________________________________

Printed name: [OFFICER NAME]

Official capacity: [NOTARY PUBLIC / OTHER AUTHORIZED OFFICER]

Commission expiration, if applicable: [DATE]

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• 18-C M.R.S. § 2-501 — Who may make a will
• 18-C M.R.S. § 2-502 — Execution; holographic wills
• 18-C M.R.S. § 2-503 — Self-proved will
• 18-C M.R.S. § 2-512 — Separate tangible-property writing
• 18-C M.R.S. § 3-203 — Personal representative appointment priority
• 18-C M.R.S. § 3-703 — Personal representative duties
• 18-C M.R.S. § 3-715 — Personal representative powers
• 18-C M.R.S. § 5-202 — Parental appointment of guardian
• 18-C M.R.S. § 10-104 — Digital-asset disclosure direction
• 18-B M.R.S. § 203 — Trust jurisdiction and ADR
• 18-B M.R.S. § 813 — Duty to inform and report
• 18-B M.R.S. § 815 — General trustee powers
• 18-B M.R.S. § 816 — Specific trustee powers
• 18-B M.R.S. § 1001 — Remedies for breach of trust
• 18-B M.R.S. § 1008 — Exculpation of trustee
• 18-B M.R.S. § 1010 — Limitation on personal liability of trustee
• 33 M.R.S. § 111 — Statutory rule against perpetuities
• 33 M.R.S. § 113 — Reformation

END OF DOCUMENT