A Massachusetts will is still the document that decides who receives your probate property, who settles your estate, and who raises your minor children if you cannot. Massachusetts wills are governed by the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code, General Laws chapter 190B, whose estate provisions took effect on March 31, 2012 and replaced most of the older probate statutes. The Code borrowed heavily from the national Uniform Probate Code, but the Legislature kept several distinctly Massachusetts rules: no handwritten “holographic” wills, no harmless-error cure for a defective signing, a void-the-gift rule for interested witnesses, and an elective share statute for surviving spouses that has barely changed in decades.
This page is the hub for Massachusetts will law on the Holmes Law site. It explains how a valid will is signed, how it can be made self-proving, what happens if you die without one, how a will moves through the Probate and Family Court, and how wills are challenged. If you are deciding whether a will-based plan is right for you, see MA Traditional Wills. If you already have or plan to have a living trust, the companion document is covered on MA Pour-Over Wills. For the full picture of planning in the Commonwealth, start at Massachusetts Estate Planning.
Who Can Make a Massachusetts Will
Under G.L. c. 190B, § 2-501, any individual who is 18 or older and of sound mind may make a will. Sound mind is a lower bar than most people expect. The person signing must understand, in a general way, that they are making a will, the nature and extent of their property, the people who would naturally expect to benefit, and how the document disposes of the property. A diagnosis of early dementia, a hospital stay, or advanced age does not by itself defeat capacity; the question is the person’s understanding at the moment of signing.
Capacity is separate from undue influence. A will signed by a perfectly lucid person can still be set aside if someone in a position of trust substituted their wishes for the testator’s. Massachusetts courts look at factors such as whether the person was susceptible, whether the influencer had the opportunity and disposition to exert pressure, and whether the result is unnatural. Careful drafting and a clean signing process are the strongest defenses against both kinds of challenge.
Massachusetts Will Execution Requirements
G.L. c. 190B, § 2-502 sets the formalities. A Massachusetts will must be:
- In writing;
- Signed by the testator, or in the testator’s name by another person in the testator’s conscious presence and at the testator’s direction; and
- Signed by at least two individuals, each of whom witnessed either the signing or the testator’s acknowledgment of the signature or of the will.
A notary is not required for validity. There is also no requirement that the witnesses sign in each other’s presence, though good practice is to have everyone in the same room for the entire ceremony. Section 2-502(b) confirms that intent that a document be a will can be shown by extrinsic evidence, which matters when a document’s heading or wording is ambiguous.
Interested Witnesses
Massachusetts departs from the uniform code on witnesses. Under § 2-505(b), a will signed by an interested witness is not invalid, but a gift to that witness, or to the witness’s spouse, is void unless there are two other subscribing witnesses who do not benefit, or the interested witness proves the gift was not the product of fraud or undue influence. The practical rule is simple: never let a beneficiary, or a beneficiary’s spouse, serve as a witness.
No Harmless-Error Rule
The national Uniform Probate Code includes a “harmless error” provision that lets a court admit a document that was not properly signed if there is clear and convincing evidence the decedent intended it as a will. Massachusetts did not adopt it; § 2-503 of chapter 190B is marked “Reserved.” A will that lacks a proper signature or the second witness is generally not a valid Massachusetts will, however clear the intent.
Handwritten and Out-of-State Wills in Massachusetts
Massachusetts does not recognize holographic wills. A will written entirely in your own hand but signed without two witnesses fails § 2-502. This is a real difference from California, Idaho, North Carolina, and Texas, which recognize holographic wills under their own statutes, and it catches people who move to Massachusetts with a handwritten document prepared elsewhere.
There is an important safety valve. Under § 2-506, a written will is valid in Massachusetts if its execution complied with the law of the place where it was signed, or the law of the place where the testator was domiciled, had a place of abode, or was a national, either when it was signed or at death. A holographic will validly made while you lived in a state that allows them may therefore still be admitted here. Relying on that rule, though, invites proof problems and delay. Anyone who has relocated to Massachusetts should have the plan reviewed and, usually, re-signed under Massachusetts formalities.
Tangible Personal Property Memorandum
Section 2-513 allows a will to refer to a separate written list disposing of tangible personal property such as jewelry, furniture, artwork, and collections. The list must be signed by you and describe the items and recipients with reasonable certainty. It can be prepared before or after the will and changed later without new witnesses. It cannot be used for money, and it does not reach real estate or accounts.
Self-Proved Wills
A self-proved will is one that includes sworn affidavits of the testator and witnesses, signed before a notary or other officer authorized to administer oaths. G.L. c. 190B, § 2-504 provides the statutory form, and a will may be made self-proving either at signing or at any later time. The benefit comes after death: the affidavit is evidence of due execution, so the personal representative normally does not need to locate the witnesses or obtain new affidavits from them. Section 2-504(c) also provides that a signature on the self-proving affidavit counts as a signature on the will if needed to prove execution. Every Massachusetts will Holmes Law prepares is designed to be self-proved.
Revoking or Changing a Massachusetts Will
Under § 2-507, a will is revoked by a later will that revokes it expressly or by inconsistency, or by a revocatory act such as burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying it with intent to revoke. A later will that makes a complete disposition is presumed to replace the earlier one entirely. Codicils (formal amendments) must be signed with the same formalities as a will. Handwritten changes in the margin of a signed will are not effective and can create confusion about whether you intended to revoke.
Some changes happen by law. Under § 2-804, a divorce or annulment revokes revocable provisions in favor of a former spouse and the former spouse’s relatives, including nominations as personal representative or trustee, unless the instrument, a court order, or a marital contract says otherwise. Section 2-508 confirms that other changes in circumstance do not revoke a will. Marriage does not automatically revoke a Massachusetts will, but a surviving spouse has elective share rights discussed below.
Children Born or Adopted After the Will
Section 2-302 protects children born or adopted after a will is signed. If the omission was not intentional and the child was not otherwise provided for, the child can receive a share, with the amount depending on whether you had other children when you signed and what the will gave them. A well-drafted will states clearly how after-born children are treated.
Massachusetts Intestate Succession Without a Will
If you die without a valid will, chapter 190B, article II, part 1 decides who inherits your probate property. The surviving spouse’s share under § 2-102 is:
- The entire intestate estate if no descendant or parent survives, or if all of your descendants are also descendants of your spouse and your spouse has no other descendants;
- The first $200,000 plus three-quarters of the balance if no descendant survives but a parent does;
- The first $100,000 plus one-half of the balance if all of your descendants are also your spouse’s but your spouse has descendants from another relationship; and
- The first $100,000 plus one-half of the balance if one or more of your descendants are not your spouse’s.
Whatever the spouse does not take passes to descendants, then parents, then siblings and their descendants, and then more remote relatives. Blended families are where intestacy most often produces results nobody intended, because children from an earlier relationship and a current spouse end up co-owning property. Intestacy also leaves no nomination of a guardian for minor children, no choice of personal representative, and no trust for young or vulnerable beneficiaries.
The Massachusetts Spousal Elective Share
A will cannot simply disinherit a surviving spouse. Under G.L. c. 191, § 15, a surviving spouse may file a waiver of the will in the registry of probate within six months after the will is allowed, and claim a statutory share instead. If the decedent left issue, the share is one-third of the personal and real property. If there were no issue but other kindred, it is $25,000 plus one-half of the remaining property. In both of those cases, however, anything above $25,000 is limited to a life income interest, with personal property held in trust and real estate held for life. Only when the decedent left no issue or kindred does the spouse take $25,000 plus one-half outright.
The statute is old and widely criticized, and its interaction with nonprobate assets is complicated. In Sullivan v. Burkin, 390 Mass. 864 (1984), the Supreme Judicial Court held that assets in a revocable trust created and funded during the marriage can be counted in determining the elective share, for trusts created or amended after that decision. A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement is the reliable way to modify these rights.
What Probate Looks Like for a Massachusetts Will
A will does not avoid probate; it directs it. In Massachusetts, estates are handled in the Probate and Family Court, in the division for the county where the decedent lived. Anyone holding an original will must deliver it within thirty days after learning of the death to someone able to probate it or to the court (§ 2-516).
There are several paths:
- Voluntary administration under § 3-1201 for estates consisting only of personal property worth up to $25,000, plus a motor vehicle, available after thirty days;
- Informal probate before a magistrate, available at least seven days after death when the will is uncontested, with seven days’ prior written notice to heirs and devisees under § 3-306;
- Formal probate before a judge, required when there is a dispute, a missing or questionable original, or other complications; and
- Late and limited formal testacy, used when no proceeding was started within three years of death.
Section 3-108 generally bars informal and formal probate and appointment proceedings more than three years after death, with exceptions. That three-year limit is a distinctive feature of the Massachusetts system and a common trap for families who delay dealing with real estate.
The personal representative must prepare an inventory within three months of appointment (§ 3-706). Creditors generally must bring an action within one year after the date of death (§ 3-803). Larger estates also face the Massachusetts estate tax, which applies to estates above a $2,000,000 exclusion that is not indexed for inflation and has no portability between spouses. A step-by-step walkthrough of administration appears on MA Traditional Wills.
Massachusetts Will Contests
A will can be challenged for lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud, improper execution, or revocation. Where a will is presented in a formal proceeding, an interested person who wishes to object must follow the court’s citation, which requires a timely appearance and, if the objection is pursued, an affidavit of objections stating the specific facts. Where a will was allowed informally, § 3-108(3) allows a contest within the later of twelve months from the informal probate or three years from death.
No-Contest Clauses
Massachusetts enforces no-contest clauses. Section 2-517 provides that a provision penalizing an interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate is enforceable. A no-contest clause works only against a beneficiary who receives enough under the will to make the risk meaningful, so it is a drafting tool, not a promise that no one will litigate. The strongest protection remains a clean record: a lawyer-supervised signing, a self-proving affidavit, and a plan that reflects your circumstances.
Wills Alongside Health Care and Financial Documents
A will only speaks at death. Massachusetts has no living will statute; instead, the health care proxy under G.L. c. 201D lets you name an agent to make medical decisions if you cannot. Many people pair the proxy with a separate written statement of wishes. Financial decisions during incapacity are handled through a durable power of attorney. Without these documents, a family may need a guardianship or conservatorship under article V of chapter 190B. If long-term care is on the horizon, see Massachusetts Elder Law.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a handwritten will valid in Massachusetts?
Not on its own. Massachusetts does not recognize holographic wills, so a handwritten will needs the same two witnesses as a typed one. A handwritten will validly signed in another state that allows them may still be admitted under the choice-of-law rule in § 2-506, but it should be replaced with a properly executed Massachusetts will.
Does a Massachusetts will need to be notarized?
No. Two witnesses are required, and a notary is not. Adding a notarized self-proving affidavit under § 2-504, however, makes probate simpler because the witnesses normally will not need to be found later.
Can my spouse’s children inherit if I die without a will?
Stepchildren do not inherit under Massachusetts intestacy unless they were adopted. If you want to provide for a spouse’s children, you need a will or trust that names them.
Can I disinherit my spouse in Massachusetts?
Not through a will alone. A surviving spouse can waive the will and claim an elective share under G.L. c. 191, § 15 within six months after probate. A valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement is the usual way to change that result.
How long after death does someone have to probate a will?
Generally three years. Section 3-108 bars most informal and formal probate and appointment proceedings started more than three years after death, although limited exceptions exist, including late and limited formal testacy proceedings to confirm title.
Can a Massachusetts will be signed remotely?
The standard statutory formalities contemplate witnesses who observe the signing or acknowledgment. Holmes Law coordinates signings with local witnesses and a notary so the will satisfies § 2-502 and the self-proving requirements of § 2-504 without relying on any emergency or special procedure.
Speak With a Massachusetts Wills Attorney
Holmes Law is a remote practice led by Michael Holmes, an attorney licensed in Massachusetts. Michael prepares Massachusetts wills, self-proving affidavits, health care proxies, and powers of attorney, and explains how a will-based plan fits with your deeds, beneficiary designations, and the Massachusetts estate tax. To start, contact Holmes Law about your Massachusetts will, or review general information on estate planning.