Probate & Estate Administration

The first step is usually filing the will, if there is one, with the probate court in the county where the person lived, and asking the court to appoint a Personal Representative. In Penobscot County that's the Probate Court on Hammond Street in Bangor, a few minutes from our office. We also handle estates in the probate courts for Hancock, Waldo, Piscataquis, and Somerset counties.

Most Maine estates go through informal probate, which is handled mostly on paper through the Register of Probate without a hearing. Formal probate, with a judge involved, makes sense when the will is unclear, someone is likely to object, or there are questions about who the heirs are. Smaller estates can sometimes skip full administration altogether. Once we know what the estate holds, we'll tell you which path fits.

Being a Personal Representative is a real job with legal duties. You have to find and protect the estate's property, notify creditors, pay legitimate debts and final bills, keep records, and eventually distribute what's left. Maine gives creditors a limited window to make claims once notice is published, and skipping a step can leave the Personal Representative personally on the hook. We keep track of the deadlines and the paperwork so you're not guessing.

Real estate is often the biggest piece of an estate, and it's where we bring something extra. Gray & Palmer started as a real estate practice in 1983. When a house or camp needs to be sold or passed to an heir, we handle the deed and the title work ourselves instead of sending you to another office.

When someone dies without a will, Maine's intestacy laws decide who inherits, usually a spouse, children, or other close relatives in a set order. And when family members disagree about a will, an inheritance, or how a Personal Representative is handling things, we represent clients in those disputes as well.