Submitted by bobtwill on Tue, 11/17/2009 - 09:26
My mother passed away recently with no will and very few assets. Her house is already in my name and she had a car worth about $3,000 and personal belongings worth about $4,500. Can you explain how I can do an expedited probate in MA. I'm not sure if that's what it's called and also heard someone call it voluntary administration. Thank you.
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Editor's Response
Yes, you are talking about a Voluntary Administration, which is in fact an expedited probate process allowed my Massachusetts law. In cases where there is no will and a probate estate of less than $15,000 in value, this streamlined process allows a relative of the decedent to administer an estate in a fast and efficient manner. Here are some key requirements.
1) The value of the probate estate must be less than $15,000 (the value of one car can be excluded from this amount).
2) The assets in the estate can only be personal property.
3) The applicant must either be the surviving spouse, child, grandchild, sister, brother, parent, niece, nephew, aunt, or uncle of the decedent.
4) The applicant must wait at least thirty days after the death to file the Statement of Voluntary Administration and must also file a certified copy of the death certificate.
5) The decedent must have been an inhabitant of Massachusetts.
Check with your local probate court about filing fees (typically $135). Many of the probate courts have the forms online. For additional information about the "voluntary informal administration of small estates," check out Massachusetts general laws Chapter 195, Section 16. For more information about estate planning in general, visit our MA Estate Planning Discussion Forum. Good luck.