Maine Transfer-on-Death Deed

At a glance

How the deed works

Maine adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act as Part 4 of Article 6 of the Probate Code (18-C M.R.S. §§ 6-401 to 6-417). Under 18-C M.R.S. § 6-405 an individual may transfer real property to one or more beneficiaries, effective at the transferor's death, by a transfer-on-death (TOD) deed for no consideration.

The deed must contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed, must expressly state that the transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the transferor's death, and must be recorded before the transferor dies in the registry of deeds for the county where the property is located (18-C M.R.S. § 6-409). The beneficiary need not sign, receive notice of, or accept the deed during the transferor's life.

Section 6-417 supplies an optional statutory template. Because a TOD deed conveys nothing until death, a designated beneficiary's interest is contingent on surviving the transferor, and the property passes subject to whatever encumbrances exist at that time. An attorney licensed in Maine can confirm the deed satisfies the recording formalities for the specific registry.

Recording & execution requirements

A transfer-on-death deed only works if it is executed and recorded correctly. In Maine:

• Recording before death: Must be recorded before the owner's death.
• Governing statute: 18-C M.R.S. §§ 6-401 to 6-417 18-C M.R.S. ch. 6, pt. 4 — Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act · enacted 2017 (PL 2017 c. 402); operative with the recodified Probate Code July 1, 2019.

Changing or revoking the deed

A TOD deed is revocable even if the deed or another document says it is irrevocable (18-C M.R.S. § 6-406). During life the owner keeps full ownership and may sell, mortgage, or give the property away; a later conveyance simply leaves the beneficiary nothing to receive.

To revoke, the owner records — before death and in the same registry — either an instrument of revocation, a new TOD deed that names a different beneficiary, or a deed that expressly revokes the prior designation. A revocation contained only in a will is not effective against the recorded TOD deed.

Mortgages, Medicaid & community property

Existing mortgages and liens

A TOD deed passes only what the owner held at death. The beneficiary takes the property subject to all mortgages, liens, judgments, tax obligations, and other encumbrances of record, and 18-C M.R.S. § 6-415 preserves creditor rights against the transferred property; the deed does not clear existing debt secured by the property.

Medicaid estate recovery

Property passing by a Maine TOD deed can still be exposed to MaineCare (Medicaid) estate recovery, and the rules on what counts as a recoverable estate change over time. This is a flag, not a scope determination: anyone relying on a TOD deed for a MaineCare recipient should confirm current recovery exposure with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services / MaineCare and an attorney licensed in Maine before assuming the property passes free of claims.

Community property

Maine is a common-law (separate-property) state. Maine is a common-law (non-community-property) state, so there is no community-property survivorship interest to reconcile with a TOD deed. Spouses more commonly hold real property as joint tenants or tenants by the entirety; a TOD deed on solely owned property does not by itself create a spousal survivorship right.

State-specific quirks

Where to read next

• Maine estate & inheritance tax — whether Maine taxes what you leave behind, and the small-estate probate ceiling, each figure cited to the statute.
• The Executor & Heir’s Guide — the probate deadlines for Maine, cited to the controlling statute.
• Funding a revocable trust — a common way to keep many kinds of property out of probate.
• ← Back to the transfer-on-death deed comparison

Sources & methodology