Maine Transfer on Death Deed
A Maine transfer on death deed names a beneficiary to receive your home without probate. It must be notarized and recorded in the registry of deeds before your death. No witnesses are required. Attorney review available.
Find out where you stand in Maine
What do you want to do with your property?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Introduction
A transfer on death deed in Maine is a deed you sign and record while you are alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically when you die, without probate, under the Maine Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (18-C M.R.S. Article 6, Part 4). An individual may transfer property for no consideration effective at the transferor death (18-C M.R.S. 6-405). During your life the deed has no effect on your ownership: you keep full control and can sell, mortgage, or revoke it, and it does not affect your creditors or subject the property to the beneficiary creditors (18-C M.R.S. 6-412). To be valid in Maine, the deed must contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed, which means your signature is acknowledged before a notary; Maine does not require witnesses. The deed must state that the transfer occurs at your death and must be recorded before your death in the registry of deeds in the county where the property is located (18-C M.R.S. 6-409). Maine does not set a fixed number of days to record, but an unrecorded deed is void at death, so record promptly after signing. You can revoke the deed only by a recorded instrument, such as a later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation, or an inter vivos deed that expressly revokes it; you cannot revoke it by an act on the deed or by your will (18-C M.R.S. 6-411). At your death the beneficiary takes the property subject to the mortgages, liens, and other interests to which it is subject (18-C M.R.S. 6-413). DocDraft builds your Maine transfer on death deed from your facts, with attorney review available before you sign.
Key Things to Know
- 1
In Maine a transfer on death deed is a deed you record while alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically at your death, without probate, under the Maine Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (18-C M.R.S. 6-401 and following).
- 2
During your life the deed has no effect on your ownership. You keep full control and can sell, mortgage, or revoke it, and it does not affect your creditors or the beneficiary creditors (18-C M.R.S. 6-412).
- 3
To be valid the deed must contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed, which means your signature is acknowledged before a notary. Maine does not require witnesses (18-C M.R.S. 6-409).
- 4
The deed must state that the transfer occurs at your death and must be recorded before your death in the registry of deeds in the county where the property is located (18-C M.R.S. 6-409).
- 5
Maine sets no fixed number of days to record, but an unrecorded deed is void at death. Record promptly after signing so the deed is effective.
- 6
You can revoke the deed only by a recorded instrument, such as a later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation, or an inter vivos deed. You cannot revoke it by an act on the deed or by your will (18-C M.R.S. 6-411).
- 7
At your death the beneficiary takes the property subject to the mortgages, liens, and other interests to which it is subject, and should record a notarized notice of death affidavit in the registry of deeds (18-C M.R.S. 6-413, 6-414).
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Transfer on Death Deed in Maine, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Transfer on Death Deed guide walks through them.
Open the Transfer on Death Deed guideCustomize your Transfer on Death Deed Template with DocDraft
Once your Transfer on Death Deed is ready, you can check whether it needs to be notarized in Maine in about a minute, and notarize it online through DocDraft if it does.
Maine Requirements for Transfer on Death Deed
Maine authorizes a transfer on death deed under the Maine Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, 18-C M.R.S. Article 6, Part 4. An individual may transfer property for no consideration effective at the transferor death, without probate (18-C M.R.S. 6-405).
The full legal description of the property from the current recorded deed, plus the street address and the map and lot or parcel identifier. A street address alone is not enough to record the deed in the registry of deeds.
The full legal name of the beneficiary who will receive the property at the transferor death, and an alternate if the first does not survive the transferor. Naming a backup keeps the property out of probate if the first beneficiary dies first.
The deed must contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed, which means the transferor signature is acknowledged before a notary. Maine does not require witnesses (18-C M.R.S. 6-409).
The deed must state that the transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the transferor death (18-C M.R.S. 6-409). This is what distinguishes a transfer on death deed from an ordinary deed that transfers ownership now.
The deed must be recorded before the transferor death in the registry of deeds in the county where the property is located. An unrecorded deed is void at death, so record promptly after signing (18-C M.R.S. 6-409).
The deed may be revoked only by a recorded instrument, such as a later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation, or an inter vivos deed. It cannot be revoked by an act on the deed or by a will (18-C M.R.S. 6-411).
At the transferor death the beneficiary takes the property subject to the mortgages, liens, and other interests to which it is subject (18-C M.R.S. 6-413). The beneficiary should record a notarized notice of death affidavit to confirm title (18-C M.R.S. 6-414).
Does your Transfer on Death Deed need to be notarized in Maine?
Whether a Transfer on Death Deed needs to be notarized depends on your state. Upload yours, pick your state, and get the current rule with the official source behind it, free and with no account. If yours does need a notary, online notarization is part of your DocDraft plan.
Check my Transfer on Death DeedFrequently Asked Questions
A Maine transfer on death deed is a deed you sign and record while you are alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically when you die, without probate, under the Maine Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (18-C M.R.S. 6-405). During your lifetime it has no effect on your ownership: you keep full control and can sell or revoke it, and the beneficiary has no interest until you die. It passes only the property described in the deed.
A Maine will directs who inherits your property, but the property still passes through probate, the court process that can take many months. A Maine transfer on death deed passes the specific real property it names directly to the beneficiary at your death, outside probate. The will covers your whole estate; the transfer on death deed covers only the real property it describes. Many people use both, so the deed handles the home and the will handles everything else.
To be valid in Maine the deed must contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed, which means your signature is acknowledged before a notary, and Maine does not require witnesses. The deed must state that the transfer occurs at your death, and it must be recorded before your death in the registry of deeds in the county where the property is located (18-C M.R.S. 6-409). An unrecorded deed is void at death.
No. Maine does not require witnesses on a transfer on death deed. The deed must meet the formalities of a properly recordable deed, which means the transferor signature is acknowledged before a notary public, and then it must be recorded in the registry of deeds before death (18-C M.R.S. 6-409). This is different from states like Illinois, which require two witnesses. In Maine the notary acknowledgment and recording before death are what make the deed effective.
A Maine transfer on death deed must be recorded before the transferor death in the registry of deeds in the county where the property is located; an unrecorded deed is void at death (18-C M.R.S. 6-409). Maine does not set a fixed number of days to record after signing, unlike some states, but the safest practice is to record the deed promptly after it is signed and notarized so it is effective.
Yes, while you are alive. A Maine transfer on death deed can be revoked only by a recorded instrument: a later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation, or an inter vivos deed that expressly revokes it, recorded before your death (18-C M.R.S. 6-411). You cannot revoke it by an act on the deed, such as tearing it up, or by a provision in your will. Revocation by act is not permitted under Maine law.
A Maine transfer on death deed lets the named real property pass to the beneficiary outside probate, which can save time and cost. It does not erase debts. At your death the beneficiary takes the property subject to the mortgages, liens, and other interests to which it is subject (18-C M.R.S. 6-413). During your life the deed does not affect your creditors (18-C M.R.S. 6-412). It also does not change your other assets, which still pass under your will or Maine law.
After your death, a beneficiary who takes under a Maine transfer on death deed should record a notice of death affidavit in the registry of deeds in the county where the property is located, to confirm title (18-C M.R.S. 6-414). The affidavit must be notarized and include details such as the beneficiary name and address, the property address, the recording information for the deed, and the date and place of your death. This clears the record title into the beneficiary name.