Massachusetts Will Contests

A Massachusetts will contest runs as a formal testacy proceeding in the Probate and Family Court, and it asks the court to decide whether the document offered for probate is really the decedent's valid will. A contest requires standing as an interested person, a legal ground such as improper execution, lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud, duress, or revocation, and compliance with two short deadlines the citation sets.

Massachusetts writes this into M.G.L. c. 190B, the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code. Three of its choices surprise anyone who arrives from a generic article about the Uniform Probate Code. A no-contest clause is enforceable here. The harmless-error section that rescues a badly signed will elsewhere is Reserved, so it has no text. And the objection deadlines hide inside the notice statute rather than in any section that says "objections" on the tin. Start with the Massachusetts will requirements guide for what the will had to do in the first place, and the Massachusetts probate guide for how an estate moves through the court.

What a Massachusetts Will Contest Actually Is

Section 3-401 says it plainly: a formal testacy proceeding is litigation to determine whether a decedent left a valid will. An interested person starts it by filing a petition asking the court to probate a will, to set aside an informal probate already granted, to stop an informal probate that is pending, or to rule that the decedent died intestate. The petition can seek formal probate of a will whether or not the same will or a conflicting one already went through informal probate.

Two things change the moment that petition lands. The magistrate who handles informal probate has to stop acting on any informal petition for that decedent. And a personal representative already appointed has to stop distributing the estate, though the rest of the job continues unless someone asks the court to restrain those powers and appoint a special personal representative.

A contest is the wrong tool for two common complaints. It is not for a beneficiary who expected a larger share, and it is not for an heir who thinks the personal representative is handling the estate badly. That second complaint targets the fiduciary, not the document, and it travels through the accounting and removal track instead. Read the Massachusetts executor duties guide and the Massachusetts probate accounting guide when the conduct, not the will, is the problem.

Who Can Contest a Will in Massachusetts

Only an interested person can file. Section 1-201 of c. 190B defines that term to include heirs, devisees, children, spouses, creditors, beneficiaries, and anyone else holding a property right in or a claim against the estate of a decedent. It also reaches people with priority for appointment as personal representative and fiduciaries who represent interested persons. The same definition adds that the meaning shifts with the matter at hand, so the court measures standing against the purpose of the proceeding in front of it.

Standing turns on the money: would the objecting person end up with more if this will fell? Heirs who would take under the Massachusetts intestate succession rules usually would. So can a beneficiary of an earlier will who got cut back by the later one. A friend who appears in no version of the will usually cannot.

The Grounds for Contesting a Massachusetts Will

Massachusetts reserved § 3-407, the section of the uniform act that assigns burdens in contested cases. It has no Massachusetts text. So c. 190B never lists the grounds or says who proves what, and Massachusetts case law does both jobs. Which burden a party carries varies with the ground raised, and that is a question for a licensed Massachusetts probate litigator rather than for a general article.

The grounds a Probate and Family Court judge hears are the familiar ones, and each rests on a different part of the code.

Improper Execution, With No Second Chance

Section 2-502 sets the bar. A will has to be in writing, signed by the testator (or signed in the testator's name by someone else in the testator's conscious presence and at the testator's direction), and signed by at least two people who witnessed either that signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will.

Here is the part most cross-state articles miss. Section 2-503, the uniform act's harmless-error rule that lets a court excuse a signing defect on clear and convincing proof of intent, is Reserved in Massachusetts. A will that flunks the § 2-502 formalities cannot be saved by evidence that the decedent meant every word of it. One route survives, and § 2-502(a) names it in its own opening words: under § 2-506 a will still counts here if its execution complied with the law of the place where it was signed, or of the place where the testator was domiciled, had a place of abode, or was a national, measured at execution or at death. For a decedent who signed in another state that is a live answer, not a technicality. Section 2-502(b) still lets extrinsic evidence establish that a document was intended as a will, but that goes to intent, not to curing a missing witness. Signing defects stay a live ground here in a way they are not in the states that adopted harmless error. The Massachusetts will requirements guide walks through each formality.

Lack of Testamentary Capacity

Capacity is measured at the signing, not before or after. Section 2-501 allows a will from an individual 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind, and a person with a fluctuating condition can sign a valid will during a lucid stretch. Contests on this ground lean on medical records from the weeks around the signing date, testimony from people who saw the testator then, and sometimes a physician who can speak to mental state on the day itself.

Undue Influence

This is the ground raised most often. It means someone pressured or controlled the testator until the will expressed the influencer's wishes instead of the testator's own. Courts look at the relationship between the two, the opportunity to apply pressure, the influencer's part in getting the will drafted and signed, and how lopsided the result is. The pattern that draws the closest look: a caregiver or new companion who arrives late, isolates the testator from family, picks the drafting attorney, sits in on the signing, and ends up with most of the estate.

Fraud, Duress, and Forgery

Fraud covers a lie that shapes the document, such as convincing a parent that a child abandoned them so the parent disinherits that child. It also covers a trick about the paper itself, such as telling someone they are signing a power of attorney when the document is a will. Duress covers threats and force. Forgery cases usually turn on a document examiner comparing the signature against known samples.

Revocation

A properly signed will can still be dead on arrival. Section 2-507 revokes a will by a later will that revokes it expressly or by inconsistency, or by a revocatory act on the document performed with intent to revoke: burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying it. When a later will disposes of the whole estate, Massachusetts presumes the testator meant it to replace the earlier one rather than supplement it.

How Execution Gets Proved Once Someone Objects

Massachusetts splits this across two sections, and the gap between them is worth knowing before you file.

In an uncontested case, § 3-405 accepts the affidavit or testimony of any one attesting witness, and lets other evidence or an affidavit stand in when no attesting witness is available.

Once the case is contested, § 3-406 raises the bar. If the will is attested but not self-proved, the testimony of at least one attesting witness is required when that witness is within the commonwealth, competent, and able to testify, although due execution can still be proved by other evidence. If the will is self-proved, compliance with the signature and other execution requirements is presumed, subject to rebuttal, without any witness testifying, unless there is proof of fraud or forgery affecting the acknowledgment or affidavit.

So a self-proving affidavit does not end the fight in Massachusetts. It moves it. The presumption is rebuttable, which leaves an objector room to attack execution with other evidence, and it spares the will's supporters the hunt for witnesses years after the signing.

The Two Deadlines That Decide Most Massachusetts Contests

Section 1-401 is the section to read, and it is the one people miss, because nothing in its title mentions objections.

When notice is required by reference to § 1-401, the court fixes a return date and issues a citation. The petitioner then has to get that citation out: by certified, registered, or ordinary first class mail at least 14 days before the return date, by personal delivery at least 14 days before, or by publishing it once in a newspaper the register of probate designates at least 7 days before.

From there the statute puts two requirements on anyone who objects.

1. A written appearance before 10:00 A.M. on the return date. Section 1-401(d) requires any party who opposes a formal proceeding to file a written appearance naming the proceeding, the objecting party, and the address of that party or of the party's attorney. A party who misses the return date is not in the case.
2. An affidavit of objections within 30 days after the return date. Section 1-401(e) requires a written affidavit stating the specific facts and grounds the objection rests on. Broad unhappiness with the will does not satisfy it.

Section 1-401(f) supplies the teeth. An affidavit of objections that fails those requirements can be struck on motion after notice at any time after it is filed, and the appearance of the party who filed it goes with it. That is how a thin objection ends early here.

Summary judgment is the other early exit. Supplemental Probate and Family Court Rule 16, titled Will contests, now reads in a single sentence: neither the filing nor hearing of a motion to strike objections is a prerequisite to the filing or hearing of a motion for summary judgment. The Reporter's notes to the 2012 amendment explain that c. 190B, § 1-401(e) and (f) made the older version of the rule unnecessary, and that the surviving sentence answers the Supreme Judicial Court's 2006 decision in O'Rourke v. Hunter.

How Long You Have to Start a Contest

Section 3-108 sets the outer limit. No informal probate or appointment proceeding, and no formal testacy or appointment proceeding, may start more than 3 years after the decedent's death, apart from the narrow exceptions the section lists.

The exception that matters to a contestant is clause (3): a proceeding to contest an informally probated will, and to get the person with legal priority appointed if the contest succeeds, may be commenced within the later of 12 months from the informal probate or 3 years from the decedent's death.

Most Massachusetts wills go through informal probate, so that clause is the working deadline for most families. It is not breathing room. Witnesses move, memories fade, medical records get harder to pull, and a personal representative can distribute the estate in the meantime. The date of the informal probate sits on the docket at the Register of Probate for the county handling the estate, and families weighing a challenge commonly confirm it there and calendar both dates. The Massachusetts probate timeline guide shows where this sits next to the one-year creditor bar and the inventory and closing dates.

When the Will Was Already Allowed in a Formal Proceeding

A formal testacy order is final as to all persons on every issue the court considered or might have considered about whether the decedent left a valid will, subject to appeal and to the narrow vacation grounds in § 3-412.

Section 3-412 opens the door in two situations. The court will entertain a petition to vacate its order and probate a different will when the people offering the later will did not know it existed, or did not know about the earlier proceeding and got no notice except by publication. And where the court ordered intestacy, the determination of heirs can be reconsidered for someone who was omitted and was unaware of the relationship, unaware of the death, or given no notice except by publication.

The clock is short. A petition to vacate has to be filed before the earliest of three dates: entry of any order approving final distribution (or 6 months after a closing statement is filed), the § 3-108 cutoff for starting an original proceeding to probate a will, and 12 months after entry of the order you want vacated.

No-Contest Clauses Are Enforceable in Massachusetts

This is the biggest divergence on the page, and it cuts against the challenger.

Most states that adopted the Uniform Probate Code refuse to enforce a no-contest clause when the challenger had probable cause. Massachusetts went the other way. Section 2-517 of c. 190B reads, in full: "A provision in a will purporting to penalize an interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate is enforceable."

No probable-cause exception appears in that text. So a will that leaves a challenger something and also carries a forfeiture clause sets a real gift against the risk of losing it. That tradeoff, and how Massachusetts courts have applied § 2-517, is a question for a licensed Massachusetts probate litigator, and the answer matters before an appearance goes in rather than after.

What a Massachusetts Will Contest Costs

Court fees are the small part. The Probate and Family Court fee schedule is statewide, so these amounts do not vary by county.

The schedule lists no charge for entering an appearance or for filing an affidavit of objections, and the petitioner pays publication costs to the newspaper directly.

Attorneys, depositions, medical records, and expert opinions are where a contest gets expensive. A contested case can run a year or more and reach well into five figures, and relatives end up testifying under oath about a family member's mind and private affairs. Massachusetts probate litigators generally weigh four questions before a contest is filed:

• Would the objecting person actually receive more if this will were set aside?
• Is there evidence of a recognized ground, and not just disappointment?
• Does the will carry a § 2-517 forfeiture clause, and what would triggering it cost?
• Would a negotiated settlement reach the same place faster and for less?

The Spouse's Alternative to a Contest

A surviving spouse who was left too little does not have to prove misconduct to get more. M.G.L. c. 191, § 15 lets a spouse file a signed waiver of the will in the registry of probate within 6 months after the will is probated. A spouse who waives takes one third of the personal property and one third of the real property when the decedent left issue, or $25,000 plus one half of the remaining personal and real property when the decedent left kindred but no issue. Above $25,000 in value, the spouse receives only the income for life on the excess, with that personal property held in trust and that real property vested for life.

That remedy runs on its own 6-month clock, shorter than the contest deadline, and both dates run from the day the will is allowed. On this page the extension matters as much as the deadline: where legal proceedings have been instituted after probate drawing the will's validity or effect into question, § 15 lets the probate court, on petition within those 6 months, extend the time for the claim and waiver until 6 months after those proceedings end. A will contest is such a proceeding. A spouse weighing whether to waive the will instead can read the § 15 fractions, the $25,000 outright ceiling, and the allowances together, since those arrive without a fight.

What Happens If a Contest Succeeds

The estate does not vanish. It passes under whatever document or rule comes next. When an earlier valid will exists, the estate follows that one. When none exists, the estate passes under Massachusetts intestate succession, and § 3-409 has the court determine the decedent's domicile at death, the heirs, and the status of testacy in the same order. A court can also void a single gift tainted by undue influence and leave the rest of the will standing.

A contest is filed in the Probate and Family Court division for the county handling the estate. Massachusetts has 14 counties served by 19 courthouses, and the Massachusetts court directory carries the address and phone number for each one.

Common Questions

How long do I have to contest a will in Massachusetts?

For a will already allowed through informal probate, M.G.L. c. 190B, § 3-108(3) sets the later of 12 months from the informal probate or 3 years from the date of death. Section 3-108 also caps probate, testacy, and appointment proceedings at 3 years after death, with narrow exceptions written into the section. Once a citation issues in a formal case, two much shorter deadlines take over: a written appearance before 10:00 A.M. on the return date, and an affidavit of objections within 30 days after the return date.

What are the grounds to contest a will in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts reserved § 3-407, the uniform act's burden-of-proof section, so c. 190B does not list grounds. Massachusetts case law supplies them: improper execution under § 2-502, lack of testamentary capacity under § 2-501, undue influence, fraud, duress, forgery, and revocation under § 2-507. Because § 2-503 is also Reserved, Massachusetts has no harmless-error rule to rescue a will that missed the signing formalities.

Do no-contest clauses work in Massachusetts?

Yes. M.G.L. c. 190B, § 2-517 says a provision in a will purporting to penalize an interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate is enforceable. The statute carries no probable-cause exception, which is the opposite of most states that adopted the Uniform Probate Code. A forfeiture clause is worth reviewing with a licensed Massachusetts probate litigator before an appearance goes in.

What is an affidavit of objections in Massachusetts?

It is the written statement of specific facts and grounds that an objector must file within 30 days after the citation return date under M.G.L. c. 190B, § 1-401(e). Section 1-401(f) lets the court strike an affidavit that does not meet those requirements, along with the appearance of the party who filed it, on motion after notice.

Can I contest a Massachusetts will if I am not named in it?

Yes, if the person qualifies as an interested person under M.G.L. c. 190B, § 1-201. That definition includes heirs, devisees, children, spouses, creditors, beneficiaries, and others holding a property right in or a claim against the estate. The working test is financial: would that person receive more if the will were set aside?

Related Guides

• Massachusetts Will Requirements - what makes a will valid here
• Massachusetts Probate Guide - how an estate moves through the Probate and Family Court
• Massachusetts Intestate Succession - who inherits when the will is set aside
• Massachusetts Executor Duties - what a personal representative owes the estate
• Massachusetts Probate Timeline - the dates a contest runs against

This page is general information about contesting a will in Massachusetts, not advice about any particular estate. A will contest is litigation, the bar is high, most contests fail, the deadlines are firm, and § 2-517 makes a forfeiture clause real. Standing, grounds, and dates in a specific matter belong with the Register of Probate for that county or a licensed Massachusetts attorney.

Sources:

• Title: M.G.L. c. 190B § 1-201, Definitions. Publisher: Massachusetts General Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section1-201
• Title: M.G.L. c. 190B § 1-401, Notice; method and timing of giving. Publisher: Massachusetts General Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section1-401
• Title: M.G.L. c. 190B § 2-501, Who may make will. Publisher: Massachusetts General Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section2-501
• Title: M.G.L. c. 190B § 2-502, Execution of wills. Publisher: Massachusetts General Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section2-502
• Title: M.G.L. c. 190B § 2-503, Reserved. Publisher: Massachusetts General Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section2-503
• Title: M.G.L. c. 190B § 2-507, Revocation by writing or by act. Publisher: Massachusetts General Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section2-507
• Title: M.G.L. c. 190B § 2-517, Penalty clause for contest. Publisher: Massachusetts General Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section2-517
• Title: M.G.L. c. 190B § 3-108, Probate, testacy and appointment proceedings; ultimate time limit. Publisher: Massachusetts General Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section3-108
• Title: M.G.L. c. 190B § 3-401, Formal testacy proceedings; nature; when commenced. Publisher: Massachusetts General Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section3-401
• Title: M.G.L. c. 190B § 3-405, Formal testacy proceedings; uncontested cases; hearings and proof. Publisher: Massachusetts General Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section3-405
• Title: M.G.L. c. 190B § 3-406, Formal testacy proceedings; contested cases; testimony of attesting witnesses. Publisher: Massachusetts General Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section3-406
• Title: M.G.L. c. 190B § 3-407, Reserved. Publisher: Massachusetts General Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section3-407
• Title: M.G.L. c. 190B § 3-409, Formal testacy proceedings; order; foreign will. Publisher: Massachusetts General Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section3-409
• Title: M.G.L. c. 190B § 3-412, Formal testacy proceedings; effect of order; vacation. Publisher: Massachusetts General Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section3-412
• Title: M.G.L. c. 191 § 15, Filing of waiver; rights upon waiver. Publisher: Massachusetts General Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter191/Section15
• Title: Supplemental Probate and Family Court Rule 16, Will contests. Publisher: Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries. Publication Date: January 2, 2012. URL: https://www.mass.gov/supplemental-rules-of-the-probate-and-family-court/supplemental-probate-and-family-court-rule-16-will-contests
• Title: Probate and Family Court Filing Fees. Publisher: Massachusetts Trial Court. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/probate-and-family-court-filing-fees

It is not legal advice.