The short answer · 9 min read
A signed Massachusetts trust governs only the property transferred to its trustee or held by you as trustee (G.L. c. 203E, § 401): accounts retitled to the trustee, real property by a deed to the trustee. Unless it expressly says it is irrevocable, you may revoke or amend it (§ 602(a)); while it is revocable and you have capacity to revoke it, the trustee's duties run to you alone (§ 603(a)); at your death the trustee's 30-day notice runs (§ 813(b)).
Last reviewed against the Massachusetts Statutes and updated on 2026-10-24.
Funding: a trust governs what is titled to it
A trust is created by a transfer of property to another person as trustee during the settlor's lifetime or by will or another disposition taking effect at death, by the owner's declaration that the owner holds identifiable property as trustee, or by the exercise of a power of appointment in favor of a trustee (G.L. c. 203E, § 401) — but it governs only what is in it. Real property is deeded to the trustee; a deed to a trustee of a trust for the grantor's benefit does not end the grantor's estate of homestead, which continues as to the grantor's interest as trust beneficiary (G.L. c. 188, § 10(a)(1)), and for a home held in trust only the trustee executes a declaration of homestead (G.L. c. 188, § 5(a)(4)). A person who appears of record as a trustee of a nontestamentary trust owning land may record a certificate, sworn or signed under the penalties of perjury, of the trustees' or beneficiaries' identity, the trustees' authority over the real estate or a fact on which their acts depend, binding in favor of a purchaser or other person relying on it in good faith (G.L. c. 184, § 35) — an attorney's document. Accounts are retitled to the trustee or made payable to the trustee at death.
While you are living: your trust, your control
Unless the terms of the trust expressly provide that it is irrevocable, you may revoke or amend it (G.L. c. 203E, § 602(a)) — the rule for an instrument signed on or after July 8, 2012. While the trust is revocable and you have capacity to revoke it, the beneficiaries' rights are subject to your control and the trustee's duties are owed exclusively to you (§ 603(a)); while the trust is revocable, the trustee may follow your direction even where it is contrary to the terms (§ 808(a)). During your lifetime the property of a revocable trust is subject to your creditors' claims (§ 505(a)(1)).
Your successor trustee
Name a successor in the instrument: a vacancy that must be filled — the trust has no remaining trustee — is filled first by a person the terms designate as successor trustee, then by a person the qualified beneficiaries appoint by unanimous agreement, then by a person the court appoints (G.L. c. 203E, § 704(b), (c)); where a co-trustee remains in office, the vacancy need not be filled and the remaining co-trustees may act for the trust (§§ 703(b), 704(b)). The successor accepts by the instrument's method or by conduct (§ 701(a)) and, within 30 days after the later of the acceptance and the trust's becoming irrevocable, informs the qualified beneficiaries in writing of the successor's name and address (§ 813(b)). Tell the person you name; a designated trustee who does not accept within a reasonable time after knowing of the designation is deemed to have rejected (§ 701(b)).
Keeping it current
You revoke or amend by complying with a method the terms provide or, where they provide none, by any method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of your intent (G.L. c. 203E, § 602(c)). Where more than one settlor created or funded the trust, each may revoke or amend as to the portion of property, other than community property, attributable to that settlor's contribution, and the trustee promptly notifies the other settlors of a revocation or amendment by fewer than all of them (§ 602(b)). On a revocation the trustee delivers the trust property as you direct (§ 602(d)); a trustee who does not know of a revocation or amendment is not liable for distributions and other actions taken on the assumption that none occurred (§ 602(f)). The rules of construction that apply to wills in Massachusetts also apply, as appropriate, to the terms of a revocable trust created or amended after the code took effect and intended to dispose of your property at death (§ 112). Review the beneficiary designations, the deeds and the successor after a marriage, a divorce, a birth or a death; a trustee who has exercised reasonable care to learn of such an event is not liable for a loss resulting from not knowing of it (§ 1007).
If you can no longer manage it
Your successor, or the co-trustee you named, administers under the terms; a vacancy occurs when a guardian or conservator is appointed for an individual serving as trustee (G.L. c. 203E, § 704(a)(6)). An agent under your power of attorney may exercise your powers with respect to revocation, amendment or distribution of trust property only to the extent the terms of the trust and the power both expressly authorize it (§ 602(e)). The rule that the trustee's duties are owed to you alone runs only while the trust is revocable and you have capacity to revoke it (§ 603(a)). Your health care proxy — the written appointment of a health care agent, signed in the presence of two adult witnesses who affirm what the statute lists (G.L. c. 201D, § 2) — is a separate instrument; Massachusetts has no living-will statute.
What happens at your death
The trust becomes irrevocable. Within 30 days after the later of the successor's acceptance and that event, the trustee informs the qualified beneficiaries in writing of the trustee's name and address (G.L. c. 203E, § 813(b)); the account follows at least annually and at termination (§ 813(c)). A contest of the trust's validity is commenced within one year after the death, or within 60 days after the trustee sends a person a copy of the instrument and the statute's notice if that is earlier (§ 604(a)). After the death, and subject to your right to direct the source from which liabilities are paid, the trust's property answers for your creditors' claims, the funeral expenses and the statutory allowances to the extent your probate estate is inadequate (§ 505(a)(3)), and a creditor's action against the trustee is commenced within one year after the death (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-803(b)). Your surviving spouse may waive your will and claim a share within six months after its probate (G.L. c. 191, § 15); whether that claim reaches the trust is a question for a licensed Massachusetts attorney of your choosing. For a death on or after January 1, 2023, no Massachusetts estate tax is payable where the federal taxable estate is not more than $2,000,000 (G.L. c. 65C, § 2A(g)).
Where to keep the original
Keep the signed original and every amendment where your successor can find them, and tell your successor where. A certification of trust lets the trustee deal with banks and buyers without the instrument (G.L. c. 203E, § 1013), and the trust itself is not filed with a court: no trust is subject to continuing judicial supervision unless the court orders it (§ 201(b)). A will, by contrast, may be deposited with a court for safekeeping during your lifetime, sealed and kept confidential (G.L. c. 190B, § 2-515).
When a licensed Massachusetts attorney is the right next call
Whether an asset is funded, whether a deed or designation does what you intend, how an amendment should be made, what powers your agent should have over the trust, and how the homestead applies to a home held in trust are questions a licensed Massachusetts attorney of your choosing answers from your documents. TrusteeClear organizes the record and explains the statute; it decides none of them.
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General information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
- Does signing a Massachusetts trust move my house into it?
- No. Real property enters the trust by a deed to the trustee; a deed to a trustee of a trust for your benefit does not end your estate of homestead, which continues as to your interest as trust beneficiary (G.L. c. 188, § 10(a)(1)). A trust is created by a transfer of property to a trustee or by your declaration that you hold identifiable property as trustee (G.L. c. 203E, § 401).
- Can I change my Massachusetts trust after signing it?
- Yes, unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable: by complying with the method the terms provide or, where they provide none, by any method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of your intent (G.L. c. 203E, § 602(a), (c)).
- Does my trustee owe anything to my children while I am alive?
- While the trust is revocable and you have capacity to revoke it, the beneficiaries' rights are subject to your control and the trustee's duties are owed exclusively to you (G.L. c. 203E, § 603(a)).
- What happens to my Massachusetts trust when I die?
- It becomes irrevocable; within 30 days after the later of the successor's acceptance and that event, the trustee informs the qualified beneficiaries in writing of the trustee's name and address (G.L. c. 203E, § 813(b)); a contest runs one year from the death or 60 days from a notice with the instrument, whichever is earlier (§ 604(a)); creditors have one year after the death (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-803).
General information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice.