Massachusetts: Petition to Probate a Will Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law and proceeding type

Massachusetts uses a petition for both tracks. Informal proceedings occur before
the Probate and Family Court or a magistrate without general adjudicatory notice;
formal proceedings occur before a judge with notice to interested persons. A
formal testacy petition may request appointment of a personal representative,
but admission and appointment remain separable requests.

Court and venue

The governing court is the Probate and Family Court Department. The first
informal or formal testacy or appointment proceeding belongs in the county of
the decedent's domicile at death. For a nondomiciliary decedent, venue lies in
any Massachusetts county containing the decedent's property. An interested
person may seek transfer of an informal case after notice to the original
proponent if venue belongs elsewhere.

Who may petition

Both tracks use the interested-person standard. Informal probate requires the
court or magistrate to find from the petition that the petitioner is an
interested person, and § 3-401 uses the same threshold for formal testacy.
Section 1-201(24) includes heirs, devisees, children, spouses, creditors,
beneficiaries, people with estate property rights or claims, appointment-priority
holders, and fiduciaries representing interested persons.

Petition contents

Under § 3-301, an informal petition is verified as accurate and complete to the petitioner's
best knowledge and belief. It states the petitioner's interest; the decedent's
name, death, age, and address; known spouse, children, heirs, devisees, and minor
ages; potentially incapacitated spouse or heirs; nondomiciliary venue; existing
personal representatives; certified transmission of the petition and death
certificate to the Division of Medical Assistance; and why the three-year limit
has not expired. The will-specific statements cover the original's location,
valid execution, reasonable diligence for revocation or a later will, and the
death certificate. A joined appointment request adds the will's date and probate
status plus the nominee's name, address, and priority.

Under § 3-402, a formal petition requests a judicial testacy and heir order. It adopts the core
informal facts and the valid-execution and no-known-revocation statements, then
addresses the original will separately. Unlike informal probate, a formal
petition may proceed without a death certificate if the court orders a diligent
search and report concerning the alleged decedent.

Original will, copies, and lodging

For ordinary informal probate, the original must be in the court's possession or
accompany the petition. An authenticated copy of a will already probated in
another jurisdiction is an express substitute; § 3-303 also permits that prior-
probate route at any time with the foreign probate statement.

Formal probate is the route for an unavailable original. If neither the original
nor an authenticated foreign-probate copy is with the court or attached, the
petition must state the will's contents and identify it as lost, destroyed, or
otherwise unavailable.

Filing or production deadline

Under § 3-108, Massachusetts generally bars starting informal probate or appointment, formal
testacy, or formal appointment more than three years after death. The section
contains exceptions, including the later of twelve months after informal probate
or three years after death for a contest, and a limited late proceeding when no
succession or administration proceeding occurred during the three years.

The will-delivery clock is separate and shorter. Under § 2-516, a custodian who
has notice of the testator's death must deliver the will within thirty days to a
person able to secure probate or, if none is known, to an appropriate court.

Proof and self-proving route

Under § 3-303(c), an informal will that appears signed and contains an attestation
clause showing compliance with § 2-502 is probated without further proof. In
other cases the magistrate may assume execution if the will appears properly
executed.

Under § 3-405, when formal execution evidence is necessary, one attesting
witness's affidavit or testimony is enough, with other evidence or affidavit
available if witness proof cannot be obtained. In a contested case under
§ 3-406(a), an in-state, competent, available attesting witness must testify if
execution evidence is necessary for a non-self-proved attested will. Section
3-406(b) makes all self-proof execution presumptions rebuttable and preserves a
fraud-or-forgery challenge to the acknowledgment or affidavit.

Notice, hearing, and objections

Massachusetts informal probate is not a no-notice filing. Under § 3-306, the petitioner must give
written notice seven days before petitioning to all heirs and devisees, each
unwaived prior or equal appointment claimant, and any existing personal
representative. The petitioner must also send the petition and death certificate
to MassHealth by certified mail seven days before filing. A designated newspaper
notice follows no more than thirty days after informal probate or appointment.
Additional notice goes to the Attorney General for the specified no-spouse/heir
or charitable-devisee cases and to both a minor or incapacitated person and the
person's guardian or conservator.

Formal recipient requirements come from § 3-403, and § 1-401 supplies a court-set return date and citation. Mail or
personal delivery ordinarily must occur at least fourteen days before the return
date, while publication must occur at least seven days before it. An opponent
must enter a written appearance before 10:00 a.m. on the return date and file a
fact-specific affidavit of objections within thirty days afterward. If nobody
opposes and notice is proved, the court or magistrate may rule on the pleadings
or conduct a hearing and require proof.

Executor qualification, bond, and letters

The person with priority under a probated will ranks first. A proposed personal
representative must be at least eighteen and may not be appointed if the court
finds the appointment contrary to the estate's best interests. Informal
appointment under § 3-307 ordinarily waits until seven days after death; for a nondomiciliary
decedent it ordinarily waits thirty days unless the domiciliary representative
is the petitioner or the will selects Massachusetts law.

Massachusetts requires a bond in every case. Under § 3-603, sureties on that bond
may be waived by the will, all devisees, a qualifying bank
or trust company, or the court's best-interests conclusion. Before letters issue,
§ 3-601 requires the appointee to accept appointment and file the bond.

What trips people up

• Informal does not mean file first and notify later. The core recipients
  and MassHealth receive notice seven days before the petition; publication is
  the step that follows informal probate or appointment.
• A bond and a surety are different. Massachusetts always requires the
  bond, while the will, recipients, fiduciary status, or court may remove the
  surety requirement.
• Three years and thirty days answer different questions. Three years is
  the ordinary outer proceeding limit; thirty days after notice of death is the
  custodian's will-delivery deadline.

Common questions

Can a previously probated foreign will be filed after three years?

Yes. Section 3-303(d) permits informal probate at any time on an interested
person's written petition with an authenticated will copy and the foreign
probate statement.

Does missed informal notice invalidate the probate or appointment?

No. Section 3-306(f) treats the omission as a breach of duty to the affected
people but says it does not affect the validity of the probate, appointment,
powers, or other duties.

Must every unopposed formal case have a live hearing?

No. After notice time expires and proof of notice is filed, § 1-401(g) permits
an order on the pleadings if the conditions are met; the court may instead hold
a hearing and require proof.

Statutes and sources

• G.L. c. 190B, § 1-201 — court, proceeding, interested-person, letters,
  and petition definitions. Official state judiciary text
  (accessed 2026-08-03).
• G.L. c. 190B, §§ 3-201, 3-301, 3-303, and 3-306 — venue, verified
  informal contents, original, proof, death certificate, MassHealth, and notice.
  Official section 3-201,
  General Court section 3-301,
  official section 3-303,
  and official section 3-306
  (accessed 2026-08-03).
• G.L. c. 190B, §§ 3-401 through -403; § 1-401 — formal petitioner,
  contents, unavailable-will route, citation notice, return date, objections,
  and unopposed orders. Official section 3-401,
  section 3-402,
  section 3-403,
  and section 1-401
  (accessed 2026-08-03).
• G.L. c. 190B, §§ 3-405 and 3-406 — formal will proof and self-proof
  presumptions. Official section 3-405
  and section 3-406
  (accessed 2026-08-03).
• G.L. c. 190B, §§ 3-108 and 2-516 — three-year proceeding limit,
  exceptions, and thirty-day custodian delivery. Official section
  3-108
  and section 2-516
  (accessed 2026-08-03).
• G.L. c. 190B, §§ 3-203, 3-307, 3-601, and 3-603 — priority,
  qualifications, appointment timing, bond, sureties, acceptance, and letters.
  Official section 3-203,
  section 3-307,
  section 3-601,
  and section 3-603
  (accessed 2026-08-03).