Maine Notice of Death Affidavit (18-C M.R.S. Section 6-414)

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Maine calls it a notice of death affidavit, at 18-C M.R.S. Section 6-414, inside Part 4 of Article 6, the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act. It does not move the property. Section 6-413(1)(A) already did that at the transferor's death. The affidavit's stated job is to confirm title following the death of the transferor, so the registry index stops showing the person who died.

2. 2

   The statute says the filing is optional, in those words: the filing of the notice of death affidavit is not a condition to the transfer of title. There is no deadline either; the word days does not appear in the section. Skipping it costs you nothing legally and leaves a registry entry that still names the transferor, which is what a buyer's attorney will ask about later.

3. 3

   Seven prescribed contents: the name and address, if known, of each beneficiary taking under the transfer on death deed; the street address of the property; the date of the transfer on death deed; the book and page number at which the transfer on death deed was recorded prior to the transferor's death; the name of the deceased transferor; the date and place of death; and the name and address to which all future tax bills should be mailed.

4. 4

   No death certificate and no attachment of any kind. Checked across the full Section 6-414 page, death certificate and certified both appear zero times, against positive controls where notarized and registry of deeds each appear. Maine asks for the date and place of death as a recited fact. Order certified copies for the bank and the assessor anyway, but the statute does not make one part of this affidavit.

5. 5

   Notarization is mandated in the section itself, in four words: the affidavit must be notarized. Maine does not leave this to a general recording statute the way several states do. No witnesses are required; the word witness does not appear in the section.

6. 6

   The register of deeds does two things afterwards that the statute spells out. The original affidavit is returned to the person who filed it, so you get the signed document back rather than surrendering it. And a copy is mailed to the tax assessor of the municipality where the property is located, which is why content item seven asks where future tax bills should go.

7. 7

   The fee is a flat statutory amount. 33 M.R.S. Section 751(1)(B) sets thirty-five dollars per instrument recorded at the request of all other persons, with paragraph (A) setting twenty-five dollars where the State or a municipality is the one recording. A register may also collect the 33 M.R.S. Section 752(1) records preservation surcharge of five dollars per document. Both provisions carry 2025 public law stamps whose effective date was not confirmed, so check the current figure with the registry. The transfer itself is exempt from real estate transfer tax under 36 M.R.S. Section 4641-C(21).

Maine Requirements for Affidavit of Death

• Each Beneficiary Taking Under the Deed, With an Address Where Known

  The first of the seven contents in 18-C M.R.S. Section 6-414: the name and address, if known, of each beneficiary taking under the transfer on death deed. Every beneficiary is named, not only the one filing. The qualifier if known is Maine allowing for a beneficiary you cannot locate, so note that an address is unknown rather than omitting the person. Where a designated beneficiary did not survive the transferor, bear in mind Section 6-413(1)(B) makes that interest lapse, so take care over who is described as taking.

• The Street Address of the Property

  The second content, and worth noticing for what it is not. Maine asks for the street address of the property rather than a legal description, which is unusual among affidavits of this kind. Give the street address as the municipality uses it. The recorded transfer on death deed identified in the next two items is what carries the full description, and this affidavit points at that deed rather than restating it.

• The Date of the Transfer on Death Deed

  The third content: the date of the transfer on death deed. This is the date on the face of the deed, which is not necessarily the date it was recorded. Both matter here, because the next content item asks for the recording particulars separately. Read the date off the recorded instrument rather than from a copy kept at home, in case what was recorded differs from what was signed.

• The Book and Page Where the Deed Was Recorded Before the Death

  The fourth content: the book and page number at which the transfer on death deed was recorded prior to the transferor's death. Note the words prior to the transferor's death. Maine's act requires the deed to have been recorded during the transferor's lifetime, so this item is where the affidavit shows that happened. Pull the deed from the county registry index and copy the book and page exactly. Without this reference the affidavit is not tied to any designation on the public record.

• The Name of the Deceased Transferor

  The fifth content: the name of the deceased transferor. Use the name as it appears on the recorded transfer on death deed, and where the death certificate carries a different form of the name, give both and state that they are the same person. The registry index is searched by name, so a mismatch between the deed and the affidavit is the thing most likely to leave the chain of title unclear despite the filing.

• The Date and Place of Death

  The sixth content: the date and place of death. Maine asks for the place as well as the date, and asks for both as recited facts rather than as something proved by attachment. No death certificate is required by this section. Take the date and the place from the certificate so that the two documents agree, because anyone reviewing title later will compare them, and order certified copies for the municipality and any lender even though the registry does not require one here.

• The Name and Address for Future Tax Bills

  The seventh content: the name and address to which all future tax bills should be mailed. This is not a fact about the death at all, it is a forward-looking instruction, and it is in the list because of what the register does next. After recording, the register of deeds mails a copy of the affidavit to the tax assessor of the municipality where the property is located. So this item is how the municipality learns where to send the bill, and getting it wrong is how a new owner misses a tax notice.

• Notarization, Which the Section Mandates in Four Words

  Section 6-414 says the affidavit must be notarized. Maine puts the requirement in the section itself rather than leaving it to a general recording statute, so there is no ambiguity to resolve. No witnesses are required; the word witness does not appear in the section. Sign in front of a notary and use the wording your registry accepts. Note the asymmetry this creates: the filing as a whole is optional under the same section, but if you do file, an unsworn version does not meet the requirement.