Transfer on death deed in Maine

Maine at a glance

TOD deed for real estate

Yes

Name in Maine law

Transfer on death deed

Law

18-C M.R.S. §§ 6-401 to 6-420 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act)

Notary

Required

Witnesses

None

When to record

Before the death

Where to record

Registry of deeds of the county where the property is located

After-death document

Notice of death affidavit (18-C M.R.S. § 6-414)

Notice to heirs

Not required

Official form

Yes

Your checklist

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Making a valid TOD deed in Maine

• What the law does. An owner can sign and record a deed that passes Maine real estate to named beneficiaries at death, without probate, and can revoke it at any time.
• Signing. The owner signs a deed that has everything a normal recordable deed has and that says the transfer happens at death. It must be acknowledged before a notary (the statute's template says so). No witnesses are required. You need the same mental capacity as for making a will. Maine's undue-influence law (Title 33, ch. 20) also applies.
• Recording. The deed must be recorded at the county registry of deeds before the owner dies. If it is not recorded before death, it has no effect. The statute sets no deadline in days after signing. Each registry has its own formatting rules (such as margins).
• Payment, delivery, acceptance. No payment is needed. The beneficiary does not have to be told, receive the deed, or accept it during the owner's life.
• Form. Optional statutory template in § 6-417 (deed) and § 6-418 (revocation). The statute says the template is not meant to be printed and recorded as-is; each county registry has its own formatting rules.

Changing it, and who you can name

• Revoking or changing. Revoke or change it with a later TOD deed, a recorded revocation, or a regular deed that expressly revokes it. The revoking document must be acknowledged after the original deed and recorded at the same registry before death. A will cannot revoke it (statutory template), and tearing up a recorded deed does nothing. Selling or giving away the property during life still works. When joint owners sign one TOD deed, all living joint owners must revoke it.
• Beneficiaries. Any person can be named, including individuals, trusts/trustees, and entities. An alternate beneficiary may be named. A beneficiary must survive the owner, or that share lapses. Unless the deed says otherwise, co-beneficiaries take equal shares with no survivorship, and a lapsed share goes to the others. Maine's anti-lapse and divorce-revocation rules (§§ 2-603, 2-802, 2-805) can change this.

After the owner dies

• Document. Notice of death affidavit (18-C M.R.S. § 6-414)
• Where. Registry of deeds of the county where the property is located
• Steps. Title passes at death. To confirm it, a beneficiary may record a notarized notice of death affidavit. It lists each beneficiary's name and address, the property's street address, the date and book/page of the TOD deed, the owner's name, the date and place of death, and where future tax bills should go. The registry sends a copy to the town tax assessor. Filing the affidavit is not a condition of the transfer, and there is no deadline.

Debts, Medicaid and the spouse

• Creditors and Medicaid. A beneficiary is liable for allowed claims against the owner's probate estate, and for statutory allowances to a surviving spouse and children, if the estate cannot pay them. The liability is capped at the value received. Such a claim must generally be brought within 1 year after death. MaineCare (Medicaid) estate recovery can also reach non-probate assets the person had an interest in at death, so TOD property can be subject to a MaineCare claim.
• Surviving spouse. The transfer is subject to the surviving spouse's elective-share rights (Article 2, Part 2) and to statutory allowances, which can be collected from the beneficiary under § 6-102.

Good to know in Maine

• Since 2019-09-01 the law applies to TOD deeds made before, on, or after that date when the owner dies on or after it (§ 6-403).
• During the owner's life the deed does not affect the owner's rights, creditors, or public-assistance eligibility (§ 6-412).
• The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgage or lien, and the deed carries no warranty of title (§ 6-413(2), (4)).

Official pages

• Maine TOD deed form
• Maine statute
• No TOD deed or other plan? How Maine handles a small estate without probate →

Sources

• 18-C M.R.S. ch. 6, Part 4 - Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (table of sections) (read October 28, 2026)
• 18-C M.R.S. § 6-403 Applicability (read October 28, 2026)
• 18-C M.R.S. § 6-408 Capacity (read October 28, 2026)
• 18-C M.R.S. § 6-409 Requirements (read October 28, 2026)
• 18-C M.R.S. § 6-410 Notice, delivery, acceptance, consideration not required (read October 28, 2026)
• 18-C M.R.S. § 6-411 Revocation (read October 28, 2026)
• 18-C M.R.S. § 6-412 Effect during life (read October 28, 2026)
• 18-C M.R.S. § 6-413 Effect at death (read October 28, 2026)
• 18-C M.R.S. § 6-414 Notice of death affidavit (read October 28, 2026)
• 18-C M.R.S. § 6-416 Creditor claims (read October 28, 2026)
• 18-C M.R.S. § 6-102 Liability of nonprobate transferees (read October 28, 2026)
• 18-C M.R.S. § 6-417 Optional template (read October 28, 2026)
• 22 M.R.S. § 14 (MaineCare estate recovery; definition of estate) (read October 28, 2026)

Legal information from the official sources above, not legal advice. A TOD deed can affect Medicaid, taxes, creditors and co-owners; for a decision about your own property, ask the county recorder, a legal aid office or a lawyer. How we check: methodology.