Source: https://www.livingtrustnetwork.com/estate-planning-center/last-will-and-testament/requirements-for-a-will/maine.html?tmpl=component&print=1&page=
Timestamp: 2019-12-05 14:54:45
Document Index: 199980004

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2']

Summary of Maine's Will Requirements:
Minimum Age to Make a Will 18
Written Document Required Yes
Nuncupative Wills (Oral) No
Holographic Wills (Hand-Written, Unwitnessed) Yes
Number of Witnesses Required 2
Self-Proving Affidavit Allowed
Statutory Form for Self-Proving Affidavit Yes
Statutes Governing Maine's Will Requirements:
Who may make a will
Any person 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will.
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 18-A, § 2-501
Except as provided for holographic wills, writings within section 2-513, and wills within section 2-506, every will shall be in writing signed by the testator or in the testator's name by some other person in the testator's presence and by his direction, and shall be signed by at least 2 persons each of whom witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will.
Maine Revised Statutes, Title-A, § 2-502
A will which does not comply with section 2-502 is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and the material provisions are in the handwriting of the testator.
Maine Revised Statutes, Title-A, § 2-503
(a) Any will may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved, by acknowledgment thereof by the testator and affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state where execution occurs and evidenced by the officer's certificate in substantially the following form:
I, ........, the testator, on this .......... day of .........., 19.., being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as my last will and that I sign it willingly (or willingly direct another to sign for me), as my free and voluntary act and that I am eighteen years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
We, ..................., ....................... the witnesses, being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the testator has signed and executed this instrument as his last will and that he signed it willingly (or willingly directed another to sign for him), and that each of us, in the presence and hearing of the testator, signs this will as witness to the testator's signing, and that to the best of our knowledge the testator is eighteen years of age or older, of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence.
The State of ..........
Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by .............., the testator and subscribed and sworn to before me by ..........., and ............, witnesses, this .... day of ....
(Seal) (Signed) ....................
(b) An attested will may at any time subsequent to its execution be made self-proved by the acknowledgment thereof by the testator and the affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state where the acknowledgment occurs and evidenced by the officer's certificate, attached or annexed to the will in substantially the following form:
County of ..............
We, .., ...., and ...., the testator and the witnesses, respectively, whose names are signed to the attached or foregoing instrument, being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the testator signed and executed the instrument as his last will and that he had signed willingly (or willingly directed another to sign for him), as his free and voluntary act, and that each of the witnesses, in the presence and hearing of the testator, signed the will as witness and that to the best of his knowledge the testator was at that time eighteen years of age or older, of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence.
Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by ...., the testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by ...., and ...., witnesses, this .... day of ....
(Seal) (Signed).............................
Maine Revised Statutes, Title-A, § 2-504
(a) Any person generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will.
(b) will is not invalid because the will is signed by an interested witness.
Maine Revised Statutes, Title-A, § 2-505
Choice of law as to execution
A written will is valid if executed in compliance with section 2-502 or 2-503 or if its execution complies with the law at the time of execution of the place where the will is executed, or of the law of the place where at the time of execution or at the time of death the testator is domiciled, has a place of abode or is a national or if executed in compliance with 10 United States Code, Section 1044d.
Maine Revised Statutes, Title-A, § 2-506
[Reference - Maine Requirements for a Will]