Quick answer: personal property only, at or under the current inflation-adjusted threshold, 30 days passed — the affidavit. Any real property, or personal property above that threshold — full probate. Check your own numbers with the Maine small estate checker.
Real property always needs its own path
A sliding-scale elective share for a surviving spouse
Maine provides a surviving spouse with an elective share of the augmented estate under the UPC framework, with the percentage increasing based on the length of the marriage — graduated protection against disinheritance that grows the longer the marriage lasted.
A relatively strict inventory deadline
Informal probate typically takes 6 to 12 months, but the personal representative must file an inventory of estate assets within 3 months of appointment — a comparatively tight timeline that ensures early documentation.
What skips probate before any threshold matters
Beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement accounts, payable-on-death bank accounts, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and living trusts all pass outside of probate.
The decision, in order
- Is the asset in a trust, jointly held, or covered by a beneficiary designation? → Skips probate entirely.
- Personal property only, at or under the current inflation-adjusted threshold, 30 days passed? → Small estate affidavit.
- Any real property present, or personal property above the threshold? → Full probate through the county Probate Court.
A local probate attorney can review your estate — many offer a free consultation.
Whichever track applies, filing happens with the Probate Court in the decedent's own county — Maine has 16, each with its own elected probate judge.