Yes, trusts can avoid probate in Maine. By transferring ownership of your assets into a trust, you can bypass the probate process, saving time and money for your beneficiaries. Assets held in a trust do not become part of your personal estate and are not subject to probate upon your death.
The cost of creating a trust in Maine varies depending on the complexity of your estate and the attorney's fees. The average cost for a basic Revocable Living Trust ranges from $1,000 to $3,000, while more complex trusts may cost more. Online legal services may offer lower-cost alternatives to traditional legal services for creating trusts.
The most common type of trust is a Revocable Living Trust, which allows you to maintain control over your assets during your lifetime and can be amended or revoked. Other types of trusts, such as Charitable Trusts or Special Needs Trusts, may be appropriate depending on your specific estate planning goals.
To fund a trust in Maine, you must transfer ownership of your assets to the trust. This includes re-titling real estate, changing account holders for bank accounts, and transferring ownership of personal property, vehicles, stocks, and bonds.
In Maine, any individual who is at least 18 years old and mentally competent can serve as a trustee. In addition to individuals, Maine law allows for corporations, such as banks or trust companies, to serve as a trustee if they are authorized to exercise trust powers in the state. Trustees must be capable of managing and taking care of property, and they cannot have been convicted of serious crimes, including felonies or crimes that involve dishonesty or a breach of trust.
In Maine, to alter your living trust, you must draft an amendment to the original trust document. This amendment needs to clearly detail the changes you wish to make, such as adding or removing beneficiaries, changing trustees, or modifying distribution instructions. Be sure to include the date, your name, the name of the trust, and the date the trust was established. The amendment, like the original trust document, should be signed in the presence of a notary public. If you are planning extensive changes to your living trust, it might be simpler to create a restatement of the trust. A restatement allows you to rewrite the entire trust, while preserving the original date and title of the trust, which can be advantageous for avoiding the need to retitle assets. In the restatement, you would incorporate all the changes you want to make, and the new provisions will completely replace the old ones.
