How long does Massachusetts probate take?

No statute sets a total; the clocks include the personal representative's inventory within three months after appointment (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-706), the creditors' actions within one year after the death (§ 3-803(a)), MassHealth's estate-recovery claim — a written statement within four months after the approval of the personal representative's bond, or an action within one year after the death (G.L. c. 118E, § 32(b)) — the surviving spouse's waiver and claim within six months after the probate of the will (G.L. c. 191, § 15), the three-year limit, with its exceptions, on probate, testacy and appointment proceedings (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-108), and the estate tax return within nine months after the death where the estate is liable for any tax (G.L. c. 62C, § 17). An estate with a dispute or a tax return takes longer.

Is there a small-estate procedure in Massachusetts?

Yes. Where a person domiciled in Massachusetts dies leaving only personal property — a motor vehicle and other personal property not over $25,000 in value — an interested person may, after 30 days from the death and if no petition for appointment of a personal representative has been filed, file a verified statement on the court's form with the court of the county where the decedent resided and act as voluntary personal representative; the statement certifies that copies went to the medical assistance division by certified mail, and the voluntary personal representative pays the expenses of the funeral, the last sickness and the administration first, then the debts, then distributes the balance (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-1201).

Who files the will, and where?

After the death, a person having custody of a will delivers it within thirty days after notice of the death to a person able to secure its probate or, if none is known, to an appropriate court (G.L. c. 190B, § 2-516); during life a will may be deposited with a court for safekeeping, sealed and kept confidential (§ 2-515). A petition for probate of a will or for administration includes a sworn statement that copies of the petition and the death certificate were sent to the medical assistance division by certified mail (G.L. c. 118E, § 32(a)), and the personal representative prepares the inventory within three months after appointment and files it with the court or mails it to the interested persons (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-706).

Massachusetts Probate, Explained

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What is probate?

Probate is the court process that settles a deceased person's estate — admitting any will, appointing a personal representative, paying valid claims and expenses, and distributing what remains to the heirs or devisees. In Massachusetts the Probate and Family Court sits in a division for each county, and its equity jurisdiction reaches the administration of the estates of deceased persons, wills, and trusts created by will or other written instrument (G.L. c. 215, § 6). Assets that pass another way (a funded Trust, beneficiary designations, property held with a right of survivorship) generally skip probate.

The main types of Massachusetts probate

The will and the personal representative's appointment

After the death, whoever has custody of the will delivers it within thirty days after notice of the death to a person able to secure its probate or, if none is known, to an appropriate court (G.L. c. 190B, § 2-516); the court admits the will and appoints the personal representative, who within three months prepares an inventory of the decedent's property at its fair market value as of the date of death and files it with the court or mails it to the interested persons (§ 3-706). No probate or appointment proceeding may be commenced more than three years after the death, except as the statute provides (§ 3-108).

The creditors' year, the spouse's claim and the estate's clocks

An administration runs on its own clocks: the personal representative — or the trustee of a trust the decedent's creditors can reach — answers a creditor's action only if it is commenced within one year after the date of death (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-803); the petition for probate or administration includes a sworn statement that copies of the petition and the death certificate were sent to the division of medical assistance by certified mail (G.L. c. 118E, § 32); the surviving spouse's waiver and claim is filed within six months after the probate of the will (G.L. c. 191, § 15); and the executor of an estate liable for the estate tax files a return within nine months after the death (G.L. c. 62C, § 17). A trust itself is under no continuing court supervision unless the court orders it (G.L. c. 203E, § 201(b)).

Small estates

Where a person domiciled in Massachusetts leaves only personal property — a motor vehicle and other personal property worth no more than $25,000 — an interested person may, after 30 days from the death and if no petition for a personal representative has been filed, file a sworn statement with the court and act as voluntary personal representative: collecting the scheduled assets, paying the funeral and last-sickness expenses and the debts, and distributing the balance as the statute directs (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-1201).

What happens in a Massachusetts probate

Deliver the will within thirty days after notice of the death to a person able to secure its probate (G.L. c. 190B, § 2-516), and petition the Probate and Family Court for probate and the appointment of a personal representative — the petition including the sworn statement that copies of it and the death certificate went to the division of medical assistance by certified mail (G.L. c. 118E, § 32).
Watch the creditors' year: a personal representative answers a creditor's action only if it is commenced within one year after the date of death and, within that year, served in hand, accepted, or noticed with the register (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-803).
Within three months after the appointment, prepare the inventory of the property the decedent owned at death, with each item's fair market value as of the date of death and any encumbrance, and file it with the court or mail it to the interested persons (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-706).
Pay the valid claims, taxes and administration expenses: once the creditors' year has run, the personal representative pays the allowed claims in the order of priority, after providing for the family allowances (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-807); the surviving spouse's waiver and claim is filed within six months after the probate of the will (G.L. c. 191, § 15).
Distribute what remains and close the estate; an account rendered to the Probate and Family Court covers a period it states, in three schedules (G.L. c. 206, § 2).

Can you avoid probate in Massachusetts?

Often, in part — a funded revocable living Trust, beneficiary or pay-on-death designations and property held with a right of survivorship generally pass outside probate, and a small estate of personal property may be settled by voluntary administration (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-1201). What works depends on how each asset is titled. This page is general information, not legal advice; a free role check can show you where you stand, and a Massachusetts attorney can advise on your estate.

General information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

How long does Massachusetts probate take?: No statute sets a total; the clocks include the personal representative's inventory within three months after appointment (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-706), the creditors' actions within one year after the death (§ 3-803(a)), MassHealth's estate-recovery claim — a written statement within four months after the approval of the personal representative's bond, or an action within one year after the death (G.L. c. 118E, § 32(b)) — the surviving spouse's waiver and claim within six months after the probate of the will (G.L. c. 191, § 15), the three-year limit, with its exceptions, on probate, testacy and appointment proceedings (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-108), and the estate tax return within nine months after the death where the estate is liable for any tax (G.L. c. 62C, § 17). An estate with a dispute or a tax return takes longer.
Is there a small-estate procedure in Massachusetts?: Yes. Where a person domiciled in Massachusetts dies leaving only personal property — a motor vehicle and other personal property not over $25,000 in value — an interested person may, after 30 days from the death and if no petition for appointment of a personal representative has been filed, file a verified statement on the court's form with the court of the county where the decedent resided and act as voluntary personal representative; the statement certifies that copies went to the medical assistance division by certified mail, and the voluntary personal representative pays the expenses of the funeral, the last sickness and the administration first, then the debts, then distributes the balance (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-1201).
Who files the will, and where?: After the death, a person having custody of a will delivers it within thirty days after notice of the death to a person able to secure its probate or, if none is known, to an appropriate court (G.L. c. 190B, § 2-516); during life a will may be deposited with a court for safekeeping, sealed and kept confidential (§ 2-515). A petition for probate of a will or for administration includes a sworn statement that copies of the petition and the death certificate were sent to the medical assistance division by certified mail (G.L. c. 118E, § 32(a)), and the personal representative prepares the inventory within three months after appointment and files it with the court or mails it to the interested persons (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-706).

General information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice.