Maine

18-C M.R.S. §2-504: an individual generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will, and the signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any portion of it. Maine follows the UPC rule and has no purge statute, so a gift to an attesting witness remains effective. Using witnesses who take nothing under the will is still the safer practice.

Notice to the Principal (18-C M.R.S. §5-905(2)) As the "Principal" you are using this power of attorney to grant power to another person (called the Agent) to make decisions about your property and to use your property on your behalf. Under this power of attorney you give your Agent broad and sweeping powers to sell or otherwise dispose of your property without notice to you. Under this document your Agent will continue to have these powers after you become incapacitated. The powers that you give your Agent are explained more fully in the Maine Uniform Power of Attorney Act, Maine Revised Statutes, Title 18-C, Article 5, Part 9. You have the right to revoke this power of attorney at any time as long as you are not incapacitated. If there is anything about this power of attorney that you do not understand, you should ask an attorney to explain it to you.

Notice to the Agent (18-C M.R.S. §5-905(2)) As the "Agent" you are given power under this power of attorney to make decisions about the property belonging to the Principal and to dispose of the Principal's property on the Principal's behalf in accordance with the terms of this power of attorney. This power of attorney is valid only if the Principal is of sound mind when the Principal signs it. When you accept the authority granted under this power of attorney, a special legal relationship is created between you and the Principal. This relationship imposes upon you legal duties that continue until you resign or the power of attorney is terminated or revoked. The duties are more fully explained in the Maine Uniform Power of Attorney Act, Maine Revised Statutes, Title 18-C, Article 5, Part 9 and Title 18-B, sections 802 to 807 and Title 18-B, chapter 9. As the Agent, you are generally not entitled to use the Principal's property for your own benefit or to make gifts to yourself or others unless the power of attorney gives you such authority. If you violate your duty under this power of attorney, you may be liable for damages and may be subject to criminal prosecution. You must stop acting on behalf of the Principal if you learn of any event that terminates this power of attorney or your authority under this power of attorney. Events of termination are more fully explained in the Maine Uniform Power of Attorney Act and include, but are not limited to, revocation of your authority or of the power of attorney by the Principal, the death of the Principal or the commencement of divorce proceedings between you and the Principal. If there is anything about this power of attorney or your duties under it that you do not understand, you should ask an attorney to explain it to you.

18-C M.R.S. §5-803(2) requires only that a power of attorney for health care be in writing and signed by the principal and 2 witnesses, and it imposes no witness-qualification rule: it does not disqualify the agent, a health care provider, or a person who stands to inherit. Two requirements do bind. The signatures of the principal and both witnesses must be made in person and not by electronic means, notwithstanding any law validating electronic or digital signatures. And, as a limit on the agent rather than on any witness, unless related to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption an agent may not be an owner, operator, or employee of a residential long-term health care institution at which the principal is receiving care. Choosing witnesses who are not the agent and not involved in the principal's care remains sound practice, but it is not a condition of validity.