PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
An Act To Amend the Laws Governing MaineCare Estate Recovery Undertaken by the Department of Health and Human Services
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 18-A MRSA §2-401, as amended by PL 2001, c. 57, §1, is further amended to read:
§ 2-401.Homestead allowance
A surviving spouse of a decedent who was domiciled in this State is entitled to a homestead allowance of $10,000. If there is no surviving spouse, each minor child and each dependent child of the decedent is entitled to a homestead allowance amounting to $10,000 divided by the number of minor and dependent children of the decedent. The homestead allowance is exempt from and has priority over all claims against the estate. Homestead allowance is in addition to any share passing to the surviving spouse or minor or dependent child by the will of the decedent unless otherwise provided, by intestate succession or by way of elective share. The homestead allowance established by this section is the sole exemption available for a decedent's homestead.
Sec. 2. 18-A MRSA §2-405, as corrected by RR 2003, c. 1, §11, is amended to read:
§ 2-405.Estate property exempt
Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary, any part ofpersonal property included in the decedent's estate which shall bethat is exempt under Title 14, section 4422, on the date of the decedent's death, shallis not be liable for payment of debts of the decedent or claims against histhe decedent's estate; provided, except that nothing in this section may be deemed to affectaffects the provisions of sections 2-401 through 2-404.
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §14, sub-§2-I, ¶F, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 707, Pt. I, §1, is amended to read:
 
F. As used in this subsection, unless the context otherwise indicates, the term "estate" means:
 
(1) All real and personal property and other assets included in the recipient's estate, as defined in Title 18-A, section 1-201; and
 
(2) Any other real and personal property and other assets in which the recipient had any legal interest at the time of death, to the extent of that interest, including assets conveyed to a survivor, heir or assign of the deceased recipient through tenancy in common, survivorship, life estate, living trust, joint tenancy in personal property or other arrangement but not including joint tenancy in real property.
 
Effective September 12, 2009