Tools for Settling an Estate in Massachusetts

After a death in Massachusetts, the estate either qualifies for the simplified procedure for estates under $25,000 or goes through probate, where creditors have 12 months to file claims after notice.

All Planning ahead Settling an estate

25 tools for Massachusetts

How Much Does Probate Cost?

Probate on a $500,000 estate in Massachusetts costs an estimated $27,714. Attorney fees run 2.2% to 3.5% of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.

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How Much Can an Executor Charge?

Massachusetts pays executors reasonable compensation, typically 2.2% to 3.8% of the estate.

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Who Inherits Without a Will?

Without a will in Massachusetts, a surviving spouse takes the entire estate when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per capita at each generation.

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What's Fair Trustee Compensation?

In Massachusetts, trustee compensation follows "reasonable compensation" (UTC § 708 or equivalent) unless the trust instrument sets a different amount.

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How Much Are Estate & Inheritance Taxes?

Massachusetts levies an estate tax above $2,000,000 (top rate 16%) and no inheritance tax; the federal estate tax applies above $15,000,000.

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How Many Death Certificates Do I Need?

In Massachusetts, certified death certificates come from the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics; the first copy costs $32.

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Do I Need Probate?

In Massachusetts, estates with personal property of $25,000 or less use the Voluntary Administration, 30 days after death, a court filing short of full probate.

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What Taxes Apply to My Inheritance?

In Massachusetts, beneficiaries owe no inheritance tax and the estate pays any estate tax above $2,000,000; probate assets arrive when the estate closes, 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate.

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How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?

Inherited assets in Massachusetts take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death, and the gain on a later sale faces ordinary income tax at the state's regular rates.

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What Are the Estate Laws in My State?

Probate on a $500,000 estate in Massachusetts costs an estimated $27,714 and takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees of typically 2.2% to 3.5% of the estate. Estates under $25,000 can use a small-estate procedure instead.

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What Are the Burial and Cremation Laws in My State?

Massachusetts allows you to name your own agent in a signed, written document, and that designation takes priority over the statutory order of next of kin who otherwise control disposition of the remains.

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How Do I Sign Estate Documents?

Find witness, notary, and remote signing requirements for all 50 states.

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Will My Estate Documents Transfer?

Check if estate planning documents signed in one state are valid in another.

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Can I Self-File Probate?

Massachusetts has no statewide fill-in probate petition, so the opening petition is drafted as a legal pleading, and informal probate is available.

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How Do I Get Appointed as Executor?

In Massachusetts, the Probate and Family Court Department appoints the personal representative and the The Register of the Probate and Family Court issues Letters of Authority for Personal Representative; an informal (registrar) track is available.

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What Are the Creditor Claim Deadlines?

In Massachusetts, creditors have 12 months from the date of death to present claims; late claims are barred.

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What Happens When an Estate Is Insolvent?

When an estate owes more than it holds, Massachusetts pays the claims in 7 classes in statutory order, beginning with costs and expenses of administration.

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How Do I Open an Estate Account When Someone Dies?

Compare estate-account opening requirements bank by bank: channels, required documents, and steps.

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How Do I Open a Trust Account at My Bank?

Compare trust-account requirements bank by bank: how a revocable trust account is opened or retitled, and what proves the trust.

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When Do I Have to Withdraw an Inherited IRA?

See which federal withdrawal rules apply to an inherited IRA, Roth IRA, or employer plan, the deadline year, and the missed-withdrawal tax.

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Settling an estate in Massachusetts means gathering the assets, notifying creditors, paying debts and taxes, and distributing what remains to the beneficiaries. Assets in a living trust settle privately without the court. An estate that needs probate takes 9 months to 14 months on average, and the creditor claim period of 12 months is the floor. In a probate case the inventory of estate assets is due within 90 days of appointment.

Massachusetts uses Petition for Formal Probate of Will and/or Appointment of Personal Representative (MPC 160), filed with the Probate and Family Court Department. The Register of the Probate and Family Court issues Letters of Authority for Personal Representative after the court grants the petition.

The creditor claim period of 12 months runs from the date of death, whether or not probate has opened, so it can already be partly spent when the executor is appointed. Distributing assets before the period has run can leave the executor personally liable for a claim that arrives later.

Massachusetts allows executors 'reasonable compensation' — around 2.2%–3.8% of a $500,000 estate, judging by what the states with statutory schedules pay. Courts consider the size and complexity of the estate, the time spent, and the executor's skill and experience. Executors can waive the fee entirely or accept a reduced amount.

Settling a trust in Massachusetts starts when the successor trustee accepts the role: the trustee obtains death certificates and an EIN for the now-irrevocable trust, notifies the beneficiaries within 30 days, takes inventory of the trust assets, settles the grantor's debts and taxes, and distributes what remains under the trust terms. The process runs privately, without probate court supervision.

Tools for Settling an Estate in Massachusetts

The tools on this page cover an administration from the first week to the last distribution. The first weeks are the death certificate count, the burial and cremation rules, and whether the estate needs probate at all. The executor tools follow the court track: what probate costs and how long it takes, whether the estate can be self-filed and at which county court, the creditor claim deadlines, what an executor can charge, how an estate account is opened at a specific bank, and what happens when the estate cannot pay its debts. The trustee tools cover the settlement of a trust and the trustee's compensation.

Massachusetts pays executors reasonable compensation, typically 2.2% to 3.8% of the estate. In Massachusetts, the inventory is due within 90 days of appointment, the personal representative is discharged automatically once the statutory period runs, and a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated September 15, 2026

Legal Sources

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Data sourced from Massachusetts statutes and official state code. How we research.