Contesting a Will in Maine: Who Has to Prove What
A parent dies. A will surfaces that nobody knew about, signed in the last year, leaving nearly everything to the one sibling who had moved in to help. The others want to know whether they can do anything. In Maine, the answer usually turns on one question: who has to prove what.
The starting rule
Maine's Probate Code puts the burden on the person challenging the will. If you say the will is invalid because your parent lacked capacity, was unduly influenced, was defrauded or made a mistake, you have to prove it. The person offering the will only has to show it was properly signed and witnessed. That is the default, and it is why a lot of will contests go nowhere: suspicion is not proof.
Where the burden flips
There is an important exception. When the person who benefited from the will was in a confidential relationship with the person who signed it, Maine's Law Court shifts the burden. The beneficiary then has to prove the transaction was entirely fair and free of undue influence.
A confidential relationship is more than being family. It means the person who signed the will had placed trust and confidence in the beneficiary, and the beneficiary held some real influence over them. The sibling who handled the bank accounts, drove to every appointment, held the power of attorney and arranged the meeting with the lawyer is the classic example. Once that relationship is shown, the sibling has to explain why the will is fair, not the other way around.
That shift is often the whole case. It changes who needs the records, who needs the witnesses, and who is at risk if the evidence is thin.
What the evidence usually looks like
Medical records from the months around the signing. The drafting lawyer's file, including who made the appointment and who was in the room. Bank and brokerage statements showing where money went before and after. Earlier wills, which show what the plan looked like before it changed. Text messages and emails. The people who saw your parent regularly and can say what they were like.
None of this is exotic, but most of it has to be requested, and some of it has deadlines.
The clock
Probate proceedings generally have to be started within three years of death. A will that was informally probated has to be challenged within the later of twelve months after that probate or three years after death. Those are outside limits, not targets. Records disappear and witnesses move. If you think a will is wrong, the time to look at it is now, not after the estate has been distributed.
What I tell families
Most of these cases settle once the records are on the table, because the facts tend to speak for themselves in one direction or the other. My job at the start is to tell you which direction, before you spend real money on it. Sometimes that means telling a family that the will is probably going to stand.
I handle will contests and disputes with personal representatives, trustees and agents under a power of attorney in Maine's Probate and Superior Courts. This post is general information, not legal advice. More on how these cases go is on the Probate Litigation page, or call (207) 373-9302.