---
title: "Maine Transfer-on-Death Deed | Funding LTC Marketplace"
url: https://fundingltcmarketplace.com/states/maine/transfer-on-death-deed/
description: "Maine's statutory TOD deed transfers at death and does not itself alter public-assistance eligibility during the owner's lifetime."
last_updated: 2026-10-20
author: George A. Mellendorf, CLTC, LTCP (Central States Insurance Services, Inc.)
publisher: Funding LTC Marketplace
note: Educational content; not legal, tax or financial advice. Markdown copy of the HTML page at the URL above.
---
Maine · Asset Protection Tool

# Maine Transfer-on-Death Deed

Last updated 2026-10-20

Maine's transfer-on-death deed is authorized under Title 18-C §6-405, letting a property owner transfer real estate for no consideration to one or more named beneficiaries, effective only at the owner's death. To be valid, the deed needs the same essential formalities as any properly recordable deed transferring property during life, must clearly state that the transfer takes effect at death, and — per §6-409 — has to be recorded before the owner dies, in the registry of deeds for the county where the property sits.

After the owner's death, §6-413 provides that the named beneficiary takes the property subject to whatever conveyances, encumbrances, assignments, contracts, mortgages, liens, or other interests were already attached to it at the moment of death. A beneficiary can record a notarized notice-of-death affidavit under §6-414, though doing so isn't a legal requirement for the title transfer itself to be effective.

## Sources and official resources

- [Maine DHHS: MaineCare for Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities](https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/oms/mainecare-options/older-adults-and-adults-with-disabilities)
- [U.S. Code: 42 U.S.C. § 1396p (liens, estate recovery, transfers of assets, Partnership disregard)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1396p)
- [CMS: 2026 SSI and Spousal Impoverishment Standards](https://www.medicaid.gov/federal-policy-guidance/downloads/cib04272026.pdf)

Rules and figures change. Confirm current details with the agency before you act.

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