Where the estate is opened.
Only if the statute's conditions are met. Read the section below.
See the tax section for the exemption or the repeal.
Living trust or probate
A revocable living trust holds assets you title in the trustee's name. You can serve as trustee while you are able.
At death, the successor trustee handles those assets. Property you leave in your own name can still go through the probate court. A pour-over will sends leftover assets into the trust, and those leftover assets may pass through probate first.
The probate path
In Massachusetts, the estate is opened in The court of the county where the decedent resided.
Chapter 190B is the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code. For an ordinary estate a personal representative is appointed by the court. Section 3-719 provides compensation for that personal representative. A separate voluntary procedure is available in the court of the county where the decedent resided when the estate is entirely personal property within the section 3-1201 limit and 30 days have passed with no petition for a personal representative. Summary administration under section 3-1203 is available when the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed family allowances, exempt property, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses, and last-illness medical and hospital expenses.
Source: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, sec. 3-1201
Fees
In Massachusetts, probate compensation is a statutory commission.
Section 3-719 says a personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for services. If the will provides compensation and there is no contract with the decedent, the personal representative may renounce that provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation. A written renunciation of fee may be filed with the court. Section 3-720 allows necessary expenses and reasonable attorneys' fees for a personal representative who defends or prosecutes a proceeding in good faith. No percentage schedule is stated.
Source: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, sec. 3-719
Small estate
Massachusetts's small-estate figure on this page is $25,000 when the statute's conditions are met.
Section 3-1201 applies when a person domiciled in the commonwealth dies leaving an estate consisting entirely of personal property, the total value of which may include a motor vehicle of which the decedent was the owner, and other personal property not exceeding $25,000 in value. After 30 days from death, if no petition for a personal representative has been filed in the court of the county where the decedent resided, an interested person may file a verified statement and act as voluntary personal representative. The $25,000 figure on the page is the cap on the other personal property. The motor vehicle is described separately in the same sentence.
Source: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, sec. 3-1201
Estate or inheritance tax
Massachusetts levies an estate tax.
Mass.gov states that the estate tax is a transfer tax on the value of the decedent's estate before distribution to any beneficiary. For estates of decedents dying in 2023 or after, the applicable exclusion amount is $2,000,000. Future changes to the federal estate tax law have no impact on the Massachusetts estate tax. Returns and payments are due 9 months after death.
Source: File an estate tax return, Mass.gov
Questions
The answers use the same statute and court pages as the sections above.
Does a living trust avoid probate in Massachusetts?
A revocable living trust holds the assets you title in the trustee's name. The successor trustee handles those assets. Property still titled in your own name can be a probate matter. A pour-over will can send leftover assets into the trust, and those leftover assets may still pass through probate first.
What is the small-estate procedure in Massachusetts?
Section 3-1201 applies when a person domiciled in the commonwealth dies leaving an estate consisting entirely of personal property, the total value of which may include a motor vehicle of which the decedent was the owner, and other personal property not exceeding $25,000 in value. After 30 days from death, if no petition for a personal representative has been filed in the court of the county where the decedent resided, an interested person may file a verified statement and act as voluntary personal representative. The $25,000 figure on the page is the cap on the other personal property. The motor vehicle is described separately in the same sentence.
How are probate fees set in Massachusetts?
Section 3-719 says a personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for services. If the will provides compensation and there is no contract with the decedent, the personal representative may renounce that provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation. A written renunciation of fee may be filed with the court. Section 3-720 allows necessary expenses and reasonable attorneys' fees for a personal representative who defends or prosecutes a proceeding in good faith. No percentage schedule is stated.
Does Massachusetts tax an estate or an inheritance?
Mass.gov states that the estate tax is a transfer tax on the value of the decedent's estate before distribution to any beneficiary. For estates of decedents dying in 2023 or after, the applicable exclusion amount is $2,000,000. Future changes to the federal estate tax law have no impact on the Massachusetts estate tax. Returns and payments are due 9 months after death.
Sources
These are the statute and court pages used above.