Maine Probate Code
INTESTATE SUCCESSION AND WILLS

Please research and note the proper section of the Maine Probate Code for each given question below:

1.       Amy wants to make a will.  She will turn 18 on May 25, 2016.  Under the Maine probate code, if Amy makes a will before that date, will it be valid? 

 

 

 

 

 

2.       How may the right of election of a surviving spouse and the rights of the surviving spouse to homestead allowance, exempt property and family allowance be waived?

 

 

 

3.       May a family allowance be paid in a lump sum?

 

 

 

4.       If the signature and material provisions of a holographic will are in the handwriting of the testator, must the will be witnessed to be valid?

 

 

 

 

5.       Joe doesn’t like his wife at all and decides he is going to kill her.  He believes that if he does so, he will be entitled to any benefits listed under their will.  Unfortunately for Joe, he is DEAD wrong!  What would happen to the estate if he did feloniously and intentionally kill his wife (that is, how would it pass?)

 

 

 

 

6.       If Joe kills his wife but is not convicted of the crime, what standard of evidence may a Court be able to apply to decide that the killing was “felonious and intentional” for the purposes of the relevant section?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.       Joe decides he won’t kill his wife, but will ask for an informal separation (not a legal divorce) instead.  During the separation, Joe believes that their will is now completely revoked.  Is Joe right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.       Does the simultaneous death section apply in the case of wills, deeds or contracts of insurance where provision has already been made for distribution different from the provisions of the relevant section?

 

 

 

 

 

9.       Mary wants her mother to be a witness to her will.  Mary’s mother is listed as an heir and will receive Mary’s jewelry under the will if Mary should pass away.  May Mary’s mother be a witness?

 

 

 

 

 

10.   If a person dies intestate, to whom does the estate pass if there are no surviving issue?

 

 

 

 

 

11.   How long must a potential heir survive the decedent in order to take as an actual heir?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12.   If a person dies intestate and there are no surviving issue, but the decedent is survived by a parent or parents, what is the intestate share?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13.   If there is no taker, to whom does the intestate estate pass?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14.    Louise and Alan got married…or so they thought.  It turns out that the marriage wasn’t valid.  They had a child, Mike, who was born after the “marriage.”  Is Mike considered Alan’s child in the eyes of the Maine statute for the purposes of intestate succession?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15.   Allison was devastated by her husband’s death.  She knew that she had to file to take her elective share in the estate by a certain deadline, but she just could not get it together to complete the paperwork in time.  Is it possible for Allison to get an extension on the time limit? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16.   Markus was very angry with his son, Julius, because Julius did not become a doctor like Markus wanted him to.  When Markus died, he left a will and one of the provision stated “To my son Julius, I leave nothing.”  Julius wanted to contest the will.  What provision would you cite as part of an argument AGAINST Julius being able to successfully contest this will?

 

 

 

 

 

17.   Debbie executed her first will at 30 years of age.  At 38, she executed another will that was inconsistent with the first will but she never physically destroyed the first will.  When she passed away at age 39, her brother Alex argued that the first will was still valid and that he should receive the collection of antique coins she left him in that will.  He was not pleased with the second will, in which Debbie had bequeathed the coins to her first cousin, Doug.  Will Alex win his argument under Maine’s probate code?

 

 

 

18.   Sally comes to our law office and brings her current will, which she executed 5 years ago.  She tells you that she doesn’t have the money to pay for a new will to be executed, but she would like to incorporate a written document that she just made.  This document distributes property that she recently received.  What will you tell Sally about her desire to incorporate this document?

 

 

 

19.   Tim comes to our law office and brings his current will.  He lived in Texas prior to moving to Maine, and that is where he had his will executed.  Tim wants to know if his current will is valid in Maine because he wants to ensure that his property is distributed as he desires in the event of his death.  Upon review of the will, you notice that one of the provisions is contrary to the elective share provision and also contrary to the public policy of Maine.  Is the State of Maine likely to give the disposition of Tim’s will full legal effect?

 

 

 

 

20.   You have an elderly client, Christopher, for whom you have updated his will every year for the last 10 years.  In fact, you just updated the will on Saturday and it is fully executed.  Even though he is 88, Christopher is active and continues to work part-time investing in real estate.  That following Monday, after executing his most recent will, Christopher completes the purchase of a very large property in Portland, Maine.  Sadly, Christopher passes away on Wednesday.  In Christopher’s will, he devised all of his property to his only child, Maria, with whom he had a very close relationship.  Maria comes to see you on Friday to take care of the estate.  She thinks that she is not entitled to the new Portland property because it isn’t listed in Christopher’s will.  What will you tell Maria about who will most likely inherit that particular property?

 

 

Attachments:

• 1508776294-MRSA Title 18A for Assignment 7.docx