Probate in Bristol County

Probate Court Record

Bristol County Probate and Family Court

Bristol County

Hours

Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM

Office

40 Broadway, Suite 240, Taunton, MA 02780

E-filing

Filing in person

Walk-ins accepted

Self-represented filing

Allowed

Self-help forms

How to file probate in Bristol County →

Verified October 16, 2026 · Source

Do I need a lawyer for probate in Bristol County? →Settling an estate in Bristol County →

Asset Protection Firms Serving Bristol County

Serves eastern Massachusetts from a main office in Milton with satellite offices in Brockton, Mashpee and Marshfield. Guides personal representatives and beneficiaries through probate and estate administration, handles will contests and disputes over executors and trustees, and takes guardianship and conservatorship cases. Consultations can be held at the office or at the client's home.

Serves 4 countiesFree consultationEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationElder LawTax Planning+6

Serves Barnstable, Plymouth, Bristol, Norfolk and Dukes counties from Hyannis. Advises personal representatives and trustees through estate administration, trust administration, probate and settlement of estates, and prepares estate, gift and fiduciary income tax returns. Founded in 1976 by F. Keats Boyd, Jr.; the initial strategy session is free.

Since 1976Serves 5 countiesFree consultationEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawTax Planning+3

Handles probate in Middlesex and Essex counties from Woburn, with estate planning and elder law for residents of eastern Massachusetts. Attorney Matthew G. Karr guides personal representatives through probate administration and handles trust administration and MassHealth applications for long-term care. Estate planning documents are billed at a flat fee and include a no-charge 3-year review.

Solo PracticeServes 7 countiesFree consultationVirtual consultationsEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawTax Planning+3

Serves the South Shore, MetroWest and southeastern Massachusetts from offices in Hingham, Holliston, Brockton and Plymouth. Counsels executors, administrators, trustees and heirs through testate and intestate probate, trust administration, ancillary probate and wrongful death estates, prepares federal and Massachusetts estate tax returns, and represents parties in contested wills.

Solo PracticeServes 2 countiesFree consultationVirtual consultationsEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationElder Law+7

Serves Cape Cod and the South Shore from offices in Hyannis and Plymouth. Settles estates for families with funded trust-based plans after a death, and states that it does not take on probate court administration. Attorney Keith McManus has practiced law in Massachusetts since 1996.

Solo PracticeServes 2 countiesFree consultationVirtual consultationsEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationAsset ProtectionBusiness Succession

Serves Massachusetts from Waltham, concentrating on Greater Boston, with offices in New Hampshire and Florida. Guides executors, administrators and trustees through probate court proceedings, trust administration and distribution, and estate and fiduciary tax returns, and handles guardianship and conservatorship petitions. Founder David M. Beliveau is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Serves the whole stateEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawTax Planning+6

All 18 Massachusetts asset protection firms serving Bristol County →

Forms for Planning Your Estate in Massachusetts

Free forms for planning your estate in Massachusetts: will, living trust, pour-over will, powers of attorney and TOD deed. Prepare each form for Massachusetts.

$12/month

Revocable Living Trust

Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.

Get Started
Free

Pour-Over Will

In Massachusetts, a pour-over will is signed before 2M.G.L. c. 190B § 2-502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.

Get Started
Free

Transfer on Death Deed

Transfer real property to a beneficiary upon your death without probate. Available in 34 states and the District of Columbia.

Get Started
Free

Last Will and Testament

In Massachusetts, a will is signed before 2M.G.L. c. 190B § 2-502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyM.G.L. c. 190B § 2-502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.

Get Started

All Massachusetts forms

Tools for Planning Your Estate in Massachusetts

Free tools for planning your estate in Massachusetts: will and trust costs, trust or TOD deed, and the signing rules. Run each tool for Massachusetts.

Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?

In Massachusetts, a will-based plan pays probate attorney fees of typically 2.2%Modeled estimate under No specific statute for general probate attorney fees; reasonable compensation subject to court review. M.G.L. c. 190B § 3-720 covers litigation expense reimbursement only.: the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.5%Modeled estimate under No specific statute for general probate attorney fees; reasonable compensation subject to court review. M.G.L. c. 190B § 3-720 covers litigation expense reimbursement only.: the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; a funded revocable trust keeps those assets out of probate and off that fee.

Calculate Costs

How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?

An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in Massachusetts runs $3,920Estimate: 10 hours at $392, Clio's Massachusetts Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,880Estimate: 15 hours at $392, Clio's Massachusetts Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.

Calculate Costs

Do I Need a TOD Deed?

Massachusetts does not authorize transfer on death deeds; sole-name real property goes through probate, at least 6 months for a simple estate, unless held in a trust or with a right of survivorship.

Get the Answer

Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?

Massachusetts automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceM.G.L. c. 190B, § 2-804Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.

Get the Answer

All Massachusetts tools