Massachusetts Probate Guide
County-specific probate filing-office contacts, filing fees, required forms, and step-by-step guidance for families settling an estate in Massachusetts.
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Types of Probate in Massachusetts
Massachusetts probate runs through the Probate and Family Court, which has one division for each of the state's 14 counties and 19 courthouses in all, each with an elected Register of Probate. The Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (M.G.L. c. 190B) offers several paths: voluntary administration for a small estate of personal property only (one motor vehicle plus other personal property of $25,000 or less, M.G.L. c. 190B, § 3-1201), informal probate allowed by a magistrate without a hearing for most uncontested estates, formal probate litigated before a judge on a citation, and supervised administration when the court keeps continuing authority. Filing fees are set statewide by pleading type and never scaled to estate value: $390 for the first paper in informal or formal probate, $115 for a voluntary administration statement, identical in every county. Massachusetts levies its own estate tax (M.G.L. c. 65C) above a $2,000,000 threshold and has no inheritance tax.
See the full comparison of Massachusetts probate typesWhich procedures exist, who qualifies, and how the timelines compare.Find your county
Massachusetts Probate Filing Offices by County
Choose your county to get its probate court contacts, filing fees, and required forms. 14 counties have detailed data.
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Massachusetts Probate Guides
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Browse Massachusetts guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Browse Massachusetts guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Probate Basics
3Executor Duties
6Taxes & Deadlines
7Planning Documents
7Property Transfer
1Avoiding Probate
1Massachusetts Probate Self-Help and Online Resources
Massachusetts probate resource map by source type
All Massachusetts self-help resources (9 links)Official court, form, law-library, referral, and legal-education links, plus how to use each source
Massachusetts probate source navigation starts with state court, form, agency, legal-help, or referral links that are already tracked in Settled state data. These links are state-level starting points, not county-specific filing instructions.
Which Massachusetts probate source should you use?
- Start with the state court, form, or self-help source for general Massachusetts probate context.
- Use county filing-office, clerk, register, or court pages for local filing locations, local forms, fee schedules, and records portals.
- Use legal-help, law-library, or referral links as research or referral paths, not as a substitute for counsel.
- Verify current filing steps with the county office, court, clerk, register, legal-aid source, or counsel before filing.
Statewide process, forms, and code sources
State court, form, statute, agency, and self-help sources for general probate and estate-settlement questions.
- Massachusetts Probate and Family Court (Trial Court department that handles probate)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-30.
- Probate and Family Court forms (the statewide MPC form set)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-30.
- Probate and Family Court filing fees (statewide schedule by pleading type)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-30.
- Massachusetts Court Service Centers (free help identifying and filling out court forms)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-30.
- M.G.L. c. 190B, the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-30.
- Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (certified death certificates)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-30.
- Massachusetts RMV: transferring a vehicle title after the owner's death
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-30.
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue: Estate Tax (M.G.L. c. 65C)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-07-30.
Referral-navigation sources
Referral paths for finding certified lawyer-referral services when a family wants help locating counsel.
- Massachusetts Legal Resource Finder
Intake finder that matches a Massachusetts resident to the civil legal-aid program, court service center, or referral path for their location and problem type.
Settled pairs these Massachusetts source links with county pages, forms, first-step guides, transfer guides, and source notes so families can move from statewide context to the local office that handles the estate.
Massachusetts Estate Law Overview
Massachusetts Estate Tax Info
Massachusetts tax information for estates
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Intestate succession decides who inherits a Massachusetts decedent's probate property when there is no valid will. Massachusetts codified these rules in the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code, M.G.L. c. 190B, §§ 2-101 through 2-114.
Massachusetts Homestead Protection
Massachusetts has TWO distinct 'homestead' concepts, and neither is a probate allowance. (1) The ESTATE OF HOMESTEAD under M.G.L. c. 188 protects equity in a principal residence from most unsecured creditors: $125,000 automatically, or $1,000,000 with a written declaration recorded at the registry of deeds. (2) A local-option RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION under M.G.L. c. 59, § 5C reduces the assessed value of an owner-occupied principal residence in the cities and towns that adopt it. Massachusetts has NO probate homestead allowance: M.G.L. c. 190B, § 2-402 is Reserved.
Exempt Property
Massachusetts gives a surviving spouse (and in some cases the decedent's children) two statutory protections that come off the top of the estate: EXEMPT PROPERTY of $10,000 and a DISCRETIONARY FAMILY ALLOWANCE. Both have priority over unsecured creditor claims. A surviving spouse may also remain in the decedent's house rent-free for up to 6 months after the death. These apply to the estate of a decedent domiciled in the commonwealth; for a decedent domiciled elsewhere, the law of that domicile governs.