Massachusetts Discretionary Family Allowance

What the personal representative may determine

Section 2-405 permits a lump sum of no more than $18,000 or periodic installments of no more than $1,500 per month for one year. Those are limits on what the personal representative may determine under that provision. They are not a promise of the maximum amount in every estate.

The personal representative may disburse estate funds for the cash allowance. Section 2-404 permits a lump sum or periodic installments. A record can distinguish the amount determined, the payment schedule and payments already made. That distinction helps separate a proposed allowance from an amount actually distributed. M.G.L. c. 190B, section 2-405.

When the one-year restriction applies

Section 2-404 limits the allowance to no longer than one year if the estate is inadequate to discharge allowed claims. That condition matters: the provision does not impose the same one-year restriction on every estate.

The personal representative's installment authority in section 2-405 separately refers to $1,500 per month for one year. The duration rule for an inadequate estate and the personal representative's payment authority are two statutory questions. The court's power to set a different allowance remains part of section 2-405. M.G.L. c. 190B, section 2-404.

Priority and other benefits

The discretionary family allowance has priority over unsecured estate claims. It is in addition to a benefit under the will or intestate succession unless the will provides otherwise. A recipient's death ends that recipient's right to unpaid allowance. M.G.L. c. 190B, section 2-404.

The separate Massachusetts exempt-property allowance concerns qualifying personal property and a $10,000 net-value limit. The Massachusetts surviving-spouse guide explains the broader inheritance provisions. An estate's inventory, will, support needs and allowed claims can affect different parts of that analysis.

Court review of a determination

A personal representative or an interested person aggrieved by a selection, determination, payment, proposed payment or failure to act may petition the court for appropriate relief. Section 2-405 permits relief that includes an allowance different from the one the personal representative determined or could have determined.

That review mechanism does not predict the result of a particular petition. A Massachusetts probate attorney can assess how the statute applies to an estate's assets, claims and family circumstances. M.G.L. c. 190B, section 2-405.

Settled Estate is not a law firm. This page provides legal information. It is not legal advice.

Find local court contact details in the Massachusetts court directory.

Describe the request and the payments separately

A maintenance request can identify the people the allowance would support, the amount requested and the period the request covers. Keep those facts separate from the personal representative's determination. A request for the statutory maximum does not establish that the maximum has been determined or paid.

For periodic payments, a working record can show the proposed monthly amount, the payment dates and the amounts actually received. For a lump sum, it can show the proposed amount and any payment already made. These are ways to describe the request and its history, rather than a substitute court form or a promise about what the estate will provide.

The distinction matters when a disagreement concerns only part of the process. A question about the amount determined differs from a question about a proposed payment or a failure to act. Section 2-405 expressly includes each of those subjects in its court-review provision. Keep the relevant determination, payment record and correspondence together so the issue being discussed is clear. M.G.L. c. 190B, section 2-405.

Separate support from the personal-property selection

The discretionary family allowance is an allowance in money for maintenance during administration. The exempt-property provision addresses listed personal property and, when available, assets needed to fill a deficiency. The two provisions use different limits and answer different family needs.

A family discussing both provisions can identify which request concerns ongoing maintenance and which concerns a selection of property. For the property request, the relevant record includes selected items, values and security interests. For the maintenance request, the relevant questions include the supported people, amount and period. Combining the two amounts into one unexplained figure makes those statutory distinctions harder to follow.

The exempt-property statute also addresses earlier payment of the discretionary family allowance when deficiency assets are involved. That relationship does not turn the $10,000 property amount into an additional monthly support limit. Read the two provisions together while keeping each request identifiable. M.G.L. c. 190B, sections 2-403 and 2-404.