{"data":{"id":"us-me/18-c-m.r.s.-3-401","jurisdiction":"us-me","citation":"18-C M.R.S. §3-401","heading":"Formal testacy proceedings; nature; when commenced","body":"A formal testacy proceeding is litigation to determine whether a decedent left a valid will.  A formal testacy proceeding may be commenced by an interested person filing a petition as described in section 3‑402, subsection 1 in which the petitioner requests that the court, after notice and hearing, enter an order probating a will, or a petition to set aside an informal probate of a will or to prevent informal probate of a will that is the subject of a pending application, or a petition in accordance with section 3‑402, subsection 2 for an order that the decedent died intestate.\nA petition may seek formal probate of a will without regard to whether the same or a conflicting will has been informally probated.  A formal testacy proceeding may, but need not, involve a request for appointment of a personal representative.\nDuring the pendency of a formal testacy proceeding, the register may not act upon any application for informal probate of any will of the decedent or any application for informal appointment of a personal representative of the decedent.\nUnless a petition in a formal testacy proceeding also requests confirmation of the previous informal appointment, a previously appointed personal representative, after receipt of notice of the commencement of a formal probate proceeding, must refrain from making any further distribution of the estate during the pendency of the formal proceeding.  A petitioner who seeks the appointment of a different personal representative in a formal proceeding also may request an order restraining the acting personal representative from exercising any of the powers of the office and requesting the appointment of a special administrator.  In the absence of a request, or if the request is denied, the commencement of a formal proceeding has no effect on the powers and duties of a previously appointed personal representative other than those relating to distribution.","path":["TITLE 18-C: PROBATE CODE","PART 4: FORMAL TESTACY AND APPOINTMENT PROCEEDINGS"],"source_url":"https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/18-C/title18-Csec3-401.html","current_through":"October 1, 2025","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-04T15:12:29Z","sha256":"555ebbb23f85bebf8528ce41effcfdb695d443cc8640fb6654f3a6ed53244561","source_id":"us-me","stale":false,"prev":"us-me/18-c-m.r.s.-3-311","next":"us-me/18-c-m.r.s.-3-402"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}