The Estate Planning Guide Est. 2026

What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Maine?

By The Estate Planning Guide Editorial Team Researched against primary sources

Published June 3, 2026 7 min read

Quick answer

Maine follows the Uniform Probate Code. If a married person with children dies intestate and all the children are also the surviving spouse's, the spouse usually takes the entire estate; if any child is from another relationship, the spouse takes only half. Maine is a common-law (separate property) state.

⚠️ Educational information only — not legal, tax, or financial advice.

The figures on this page are general estimates. Laws, fees, thresholds, and prices differ by state and change often, and your own situation may change the result. Before you act, confirm the current numbers and rules for Maine with a licensed professional — an attorney, tax advisor, or licensed agent as appropriate. Reading this page does not create a professional relationship.

How intestacy works in Maine

When someone dies in Maine without a valid will, 18-C M.R.S. §2-101 et seq. decides who inherits. The statute orders potential heirs by their relationship to the deceased — spouse and children first, then parents, then more distant relatives — and specifies exactly what share each one receives.

Maine is a common-law (separate property) state, so there is no community-property split; the shares above apply to the whole intestate estate.

What happens when there’s a surviving spouse only (no children, no parents)

If no descendant and no parent of the decedent survives, the spouse inherits the entire intestate estate. If a parent survives but there is no descendant, the spouse takes the first $300,000 plus three-quarters of the balance (18-C §2-102).

What happens when there’s a surviving spouse and children

This is the most common situation and where Maine’s rules get specific:

If all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also the surviving spouse's, and the spouse has no other descendants, the spouse takes the entire estate. If all the decedent's descendants are the spouse's but the spouse also has other descendants, the spouse takes the first $100,000 plus one-half of the balance. If one or more of the decedent's descendants are not the surviving spouse's (a blended family), the spouse takes one-half and the descendants share the other half (18-C §2-102). Note: the dollar thresholds are adjusted annually for inflation.

For families where everyone is from the same marriage, the spouse generally gets a meaningful share. For blended families — where one or more children are from a prior relationship — many states change the math substantially. If your situation might fit that, the section above is exactly the rule that applies.

What happens when there’s a surviving spouse and parents (no children)

With no descendants but a surviving parent, the spouse takes the first $300,000 plus three-quarters of the balance; the parents share the remaining one-quarter (18-C §2-102, §2-103).

What happens when there are children but no spouse

The estate passes to the descendants by representation — equal shares at the nearest generation with living takers (18-C §2-103, §2-106).

What happens when there’s no spouse and no children

Order of inheritance: descendants → parents → parents' descendants (siblings, nieces and nephews) → grandparents and their descendants → more remote kindred → and, if no taker exists, the estate escheats to the State of Maine (18-C §2-103, §2-105).

This is where intestacy starts producing results that often surprise people — distant relatives the deceased may not have been close to can end up inheriting, and a long-time unmarried partner inherits nothing.

A Maine-specific quirk

Maine's spousal shares use dollar thresholds ($300,000 and $100,000) that are adjusted each year for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (18-C §2-102, §1-109), so the exact figures rise over time. Maine also gives the surviving spouse the entire estate when every child is a child of both spouses.

What intestacy can’t do (and why it usually fails most people)

Even when Maine’s intestacy rules produce a result close to what someone would have chosen, the rules can never:

  • Leave anything to an unmarried partner — intestacy doesn’t recognize unmarried partners regardless of relationship length
  • Leave anything to a step-child you didn’t formally adopt
  • Leave anything to a friend, charity, or specific person outside your family
  • Name a guardian for your minor children — a Maine judge picks
  • Specify who handles your estate — a court appoints an administrator
  • Identify specific items for specific people
  • Account for blended-family dynamics in nuanced ways
  • Reduce probate costs and time — intestate estates still go through full probate

For most Maine families, a basic will — costing $300 to $1,500 with a local attorney, or $50 to $300 with an online service — is meaningfully better than the default rules.

What probate looks like in Maine when there’s no will

If someone dies intestate in Maine, the estate still goes through probate. A court appoints an administrator (rather than an “executor” — the title is different for intestacy) to:

  1. Inventory the estate’s assets
  2. Notify creditors and pay debts
  3. Identify legal heirs under Maine’s intestacy statute
  4. Distribute remaining assets to heirs according to the statute

For details on what probate costs and how long it takes in Maine, see:

What to do this week if you don’t have a will

The most useful single move for any Maine adult without a will:

  1. Write a basic will. Either through an online service ($50-$300) or a local attorney ($300-$1,500). Name an executor, name a guardian for any minor children, and specify who inherits what.
  2. Update beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, and POD/TOD bank accounts. These pass outside both the will and intestacy.
  3. Sign a financial power of attorney and a healthcare directive. These handle incapacity (not death) and prevent your family from needing court-appointed guardianship.

For a Maine family with a typical estate, this whole package usually costs under $1,500 and takes a couple of weeks of intermittent work. It’s substantially cheaper and less stressful than what happens if you don’t do it.

What happens without a will in other states

Intestacy rules differ from state to state — here’s what happens when someone dies without a will elsewhere:

This page explains Maine intestacy law in general terms as of 2026. It is not legal advice; intestacy provisions, dollar thresholds, and statute citations can change. Confirm current rules with a licensed Maine attorney before relying on this page. Sources: 18-C M.R.S. §2-102 (share of spouse), 18-C M.R.S. §2-103 (share of heirs other than surviving spouse), 18-C M.R.S. §2-105 (no taker; escheat), 18-C M.R.S. §1-109 (cost-of-living adjustment of dollar amounts).

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