Being named executor in Maine is a 12–18 month job nobody trained you for. This is the whole sequence — what Maine requires of you, what is merely sensible, and which statute each requirement comes from.
Estate tax exclusion for deaths in 2026 ($7,000,000 for 2025). Indexed for inflation annually from a $5,600,000 base; Maine Revenue Services publishes the figure per year of death.read at source
$7,160,000
36 M.R.S. §4102; Maine Revenue Services · last checked 2026-09-05
Creditors barred 4 months after first publication of the notice to creditors.not yet confirmed
4 months
18-C M.R.S. §3-801, §3-803 · last checked 2026-07
Maine specifics (verified against public sources July 2026 but NOT yet reviewed by an attorney -- confirm with the Probate Court or a probate attorney): probate is handled in the Probate Court. Prepare an inventory within 3 months of appointment (18-C M.R.S. 3-706). Maine creditors are barred 4 months after first publication of the notice to creditors (18-C M.R.S. 3-801/3-803). Maine has a state ESTATE tax with a $7,160,000 exclusion for deaths in 2026 ($7,000,000 for 2025); it is inflation-indexed each year, so check the figure for the actual year of death. No inheritance tax. General information, not legal advice.
Steps are grouped the way the work actually arrives. Required marks a duty backed by a citation; Recommended marks something that protects you or the estate but is not itself a legal obligation.
Nearly every institution requires an original certified copy.
How: Order through the funeral home or the state vital-records office.
The original signed will is required to open probate.
How: Check the safe, files, and safe-deposit box; ask their attorney.
You are responsible for protecting estate property from loss.
How: Lock up, collect keys, consider re-keying, keep utilities on for now.
The mail reveals accounts and bills you don't know about.
How: You cannot do this online. To redirect the deceased's mail to yourself you must go to a Post Office IN PERSON and show documented proof that you are the appointed executor or administrator — USPS says plainly that a death certificate alone is NOT enough, so take your Letters. If you already shared the address, you may simply open and manage the mail, no filing needed. Register the name at DMAchoice.org too: advertising mail should drop within about three months. Photograph everything into Settle.
USPS, Mail addressed to the deceased · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
Stops benefit payments that would have to be repaid. Survivor benefits are separate — nobody starts them for you.
How: The funeral home usually reports the death — confirm by calling SSA on 1-800-772-1213. Ask about the benefit paid for the month of death, which often has to be returned. A surviving spouse, or an eligible child if there is no spouse, may claim the $255 lump-sum death payment, and survivors benefits are a separate claim — nobody starts either for you. There is a hard deadline: the lump sum must be applied for within TWO YEARS of the death. Apply online with an SSA account, or by phone.
SSA, Lump-sum death payment · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
Small estates can often skip full probate -- faster and cheaper.
How: A small-estate affidavit is available for personal property of $40,000 or less with no real estate (18-C M.R.S. 3-1201). Note a 3-year outer deadline to begin probate.
Gets you the letters of authority so institutions will deal with you.
How: File in the Probate Court in the county where they lived.
Statements, deeds, titles, and tax returns recur constantly through settlement.
How: Photograph everything into Settle as you find it.
Vacancy can limit or void coverage; an uninsured loss drains the estate.
How: Call the insurer and ask about a vacancy endorsement.
Needed for the estate bank account and tax filings.
How: Free, direct from the IRS — never pay a site that charges for one. Apply online, but know three things first. You must finish in ONE session: it cannot be saved and it times out after 15 minutes of inactivity. You need the responsible party's own Social Security number or ITIN — yours, as the executor. And the tool is not always open: Mon-Fri 6am-1am, Sat 6am-9pm, Sun 6pm-midnight Eastern, one EIN per responsible party per day.
IRS, Get an employer identification number · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
Never mix estate money with your own.
How: Bring the letters, EIN, and a death certificate to the bank.
Maine creditors are barred 4 months after first publication of the notice to creditors (18-C M.R.S. 3-801/3-803).
How: Publish and mail the required notices; track claims in Settle.
Freezes accounts against fraud; starts transfers.
How: Write to each institution with a certified death certificate and, once the court issues them, a copy of your Letters. Log who you contacted and when in Settle so you can show the follow-up trail.
Policies pay beneficiaries directly and often quickly.
How: Call each insurer with policy number + death certificate.
Stops fees and identity theft.
How: Notify issuers, then Equifax, Experian, TransUnion.
Small drains add up over a long settlement.
How: Bank statements and forwarded mail reveal them.
Prepare an inventory within 3 months of appointment (18-C M.R.S. 3-706).
How: Settle's inventory report gives you the asset list with date-of-death values.
Date-of-death values set tax basis and drive distribution.
How: Real estate: appraisal or broker opinion. Keep reports in Settle.
Protects estate value; order of payment matters if funds are tight.
How: Estate account only. If the estate may be insolvent, pause and get advice.
Maine has a state ESTATE tax with a $7,160,000 exclusion (2026, inflation-indexed). No inheritance tax.
How: A CPA or estate attorney can confirm what applies and prepare any required return. Hand them Settle's inventory and ledger.
A final personal return (and possibly an estate income return) is due.
How: Three federal filings can apply, and they are not the same thing. The final Form 1040 covers income up to the date of death and is filed on the ordinary deadline, as if they were alive — prior years may also be outstanding. If a refund is due, it will NOT arrive on its own: file Form 1310 to claim it. Separately, the estate itself files Form 1041 for any tax year it has gross income of $600 or more. IRS Publication 559 is written for executors. A CPA experienced with estates is usually worth it — hand them Settle's reports.
IRS, File the final income tax returns of a deceased person; Instructions for Form 1041 · last checked 2026-09-28read at source
Documented expenses come back to you from the estate.
How: Settle's ledger tracks 'paid personally' items; reimburse with a paper trail.
Distribute only after debts, taxes, and the creditor period are handled -- early distribution can create personal liability.
How: Follow the will (or state intestacy rules). Get signed receipts; keep them in Settle.
The court discharges you once the estate is settled.
How: Generate Settle's Ledger and Inventory reports; file the final account. Keep records for several years.
Settle builds this checklist into a plan you can actually work
The steps above, ordered for your situation in Maine, with the deadlines on a calendar, your documents attached to the step that needs them, and an expense ledger for everything the estate owes you back. The plan itself is free.
Every figure on this page links to the statute or court source it came from and shows the date we last read it. 1 of the 6 citations on this page carry the “not yet confirmed” tag. That means we recorded the citation from a secondary source and have not yet read it against the primary statute text ourselves. We could have left those rows out and the page would look better — but it would imply the rest were checked too, which is exactly the impression nobody should be given about a court deadline.
The full registry, including everything we have not confirmed, is published at Where the state information comes from. If the court or your attorney gave you a different date, please tell us at support@vertexlabsolutions.com — it is the fastest way to get it fixed for the next executor.