Quick answer: the most common mechanical mistake is never recording a new deed into the trust's name for real estate. The most common Maine-specific mistake is assuming a basic trust already solves the no-portability problem for a married couple — it doesn't. See how the numbers change in the Maine probate vs living trust calculator.
Signing ≠ funding
1. Real estate deed never recorded — the #1 mechanical mistake
Moving real estate into a trust requires a new deed, signed and recorded, naming the trust as owner. This is the step most often skipped. Left undone, that property remains a probate asset — subject to the full Probate Court process, regardless of the trust document sitting in a drawer.
2. Mistaking a basic trust for estate tax planning — Maine's own risk
Because Maine doesn't allow portability of its estate tax exemption between spouses, a couple who assumes their basic revocable trust already protects the first spouse's $7,160,000 exemption is mistaken. A plain revocable trust's assets stay in the taxable estate; only a deliberately structured credit shelter trust or Maine QTIP election actually captures that unused exemption.
3. Financial accounts left titled individually
Bank and brokerage accounts don't join a trust automatically. Each one has to be retitled into the trust's name, or the institution needs a copy of the trust document plus a change-of-ownership form. Accounts opened after the trust was created are especially easy to forget.
4. Treating Voluntary Administration as a safety net
Maine's Voluntary Administration — personal property only, currently about $52,500 or less — is a genuine shortcut for modest, unfunded assets. It's not a backstop for a house or a sizeable account left outside the trust by mistake; those require full probate, regardless of the unused trust document, and real estate is excluded from this track entirely.
A local probate attorney can review your estate — many offer a free consultation.