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MA Estate Planning Law (Wills/Probate) Questions and Answers

Topic	Replies	Created	Last reply
Life Estate and Capacity My father was left a life estate by my grandparents on a farm that me and my two brothers are listed as remaindermen on. He no longer has capacity for...	1	1 year 29 weeks ago by flangley	1 year 29 weeks ago by Peter Bernardin
Changing Trustee of Irrevocable Trust Hello, I currently have an irrevocable trust in my name, and I am interested in changing the court appointed trustee for various reasons. What do...	1	1 year 28 weeks ago by tjg2994	1 year 28 weeks ago by admin
Challenge informal appointment of Personal Representative Thanks for your post regarding the new MA probate code. One quick question. Let's say that for some reason a person does not hear about the informal...	1	1 year 27 weeks ago by RMF8	1 year 27 weeks ago by The Editor
Inventory of estate under new probate code When the new Massachusetts probate code becomes effective in 2012 will the heirs and other interested parties still be able to request that the person...	1	1 year 26 weeks ago by SethE	1 year 26 weeks ago by The Editor
Spousal elective share and assests moved during a marriage unknown to the spouse. My Grandmother's husband just passed, this was her second husband of 24 years and each have two children with deceased spouses. Almost immediatly aft...	1	1 year 26 weeks ago by Anonymous	1 year 26 weeks ago by The Editor
Interested person or party under new Massachusetts probate code Hello. My uncle is seriously ill and will likely pass away in the next few months from cancer. He and I were very close but his son dislikes me a lo...	1	1 year 25 weeks ago by DFC64	1 year 25 weeks ago by The Editor
Do I inherit mortgage with house in Massachusetts? My mother's home is worth around $400k, but I'm pretty sure that she has multiple mortgages on the thing and it may be underwater at this point. She ...	1	1 year 24 weeks ago by BLarge	1 year 24 weeks ago by The Editor
Irrevocable Trust Question My mother transferred her house to me by deed about 3 years ago. I think there was some confusion of her part as after reading up on it, this may onl...	1	1 year 22 weeks ago by jcmccall	1 year 22 weeks ago by The Editor
Tenant Liabilities Regarding Rental Income to Estate , Will Filing Deadlines I've read the threads here regarding filing of inventories, and appreciate the advice about reasonable expectations. My mother has passed away in se...	3	1 year 22 weeks ago by Whaler	1 year 22 weeks ago by admin
No Will - New Probate law Question. My mom passed last week. She less than 1M in the bank. Owes nothing to anybody as far as I know, but I know the court has to do a search to ...	1	1 year 22 weeks ago by kevinjames	1 year 22 weeks ago by The Editor
Delay in filing final account with probate court? If an administrator has paid all the liabilities of an estate and distributed its assets, may the first and final accounting cover only the period unt...	0	1 year 21 weeks ago by j.e.burke	n/a
Supervised administration under new Massachusetts probate code Thank you very much for all the information you've provided about the new Massachusetts probate code. My question is about terminology I think. My au...	1	1 year 20 weeks ago by Bruinboy5	1 year 20 weeks ago by The Editor
Transfer of property to and by executor or personal representative of estate in MA My father passed away in September. The probate is over and settled, no contests to the will. My mother is the beneficiery of my father's estate. Her ...	1	1 year 19 weeks ago by JGraul	1 year 19 weeks ago by Peter Bernardin
Disclaimer for Life insurance beneficiary My father passed away recently and he did not have a will. He has two life insurance policies that were taken out when my brother, sister and myself w...	1	1 year 17 weeks ago by mjmmccoy	1 year 17 weeks ago by The Editor
Penalty for contesting a will in Massachusetts? I haven't gotten along very well with my father over the years but we always maintained our relationship. Now he is suffering from what I believe to ...	3	1 year 18 weeks ago by Bird85	1 year 16 weeks ago by admin
Language to leave son or daughter out of will In another answer you said MA law allows you to leave a son or daughter out of a will and said you need to use "specific language to identify the chil...	2	3 years 44 weeks ago by Anonymous	1 year 16 weeks ago by admin
Leaving a child out of the will (disinheriting) Does MA law allow me to leave one child out but leave property to the other? If so, is there some special procedure I should follow? Thanks in advan...	6	4 years 1 day ago by Simpson	1 year 16 weeks ago by patotas
Probate after Spouse's death My spouse and I own everything jointly (house, bank accounts, etc). We each have our own 401k retirement accounts with each other named as sole benef...	1	1 year 16 weeks ago by Mudge	1 year 16 weeks ago by The Editor
Brother named executor, no estate technically to probate, but need paper stating he was named executor for a certain matter... My father passed away in Dec. 2009. Three years before his passing, he had a will drawn through his attorney, naming my brother executor. He left the ...	0	1 year 15 weeks ago by PapRLG	n/a
Powers of Executor or personal representative of estates in Massachusetts I'm listed as the executor in both of my parents' wills (or is it now known as the personal representative?). My father recently passed away. He was...	1	1 year 14 weeks ago by Rick M	1 year 14 weeks ago by The Editor
Husband or wife transferring car after death of spouse in Massachusetts Hi. I looked through your forum pretty carefully but I can't find information on this. My father recently passed away and left the car that he and m...	1	1 year 11 weeks ago by BillW	1 year 11 weeks ago by The Editor
Closing estate in Massachusetts with new probate code My brother has been appointed the Personal Representative of my father's estate under the new informal proceedings of the UPC. Under this new system ...	1	1 year 10 weeks ago by GreenB	1 year 10 weeks ago by The Editor
Filing of First Accounting under new UPC I was appointed Executor of an estate in August 2011. I have currently been asked by my attorney to prepare info for the First Accounting. Under the...	0	1 year 10 weeks ago by nssg	n/a
Delaying inheritance through trust My estate (and my wife's) is by no means huge, but we were wondering about how we could use trusts to delay the whole inheritance process. The situat...	1	1 year 8 weeks ago by HarryV	1 year 8 weeks ago by The Editor
What to list for estate inventory on small intestate estate? My mother passed away in January and had no will. She had no real estate and few possessions (mostly clothes, books, and dishes). She owned a car and ...	1	1 year 7 weeks ago by anon@yahoo.com	1 year 7 weeks ago by The Editor
Executor Appointment Needed to Be Re-Certified? My parents both passed away in 2009. I am the executor/sole beneficiary of the estate. I filed their last individual tax forms for the year 2009 in 20...	0	1 year 6 weeks ago by hotwagw	n/a
Attorney in Fact same as power or attorney? My brother is the power of attorney for my elderly mother. She is demented and often confused about her finances and so forth. I have no reason not ...	1	1 year 5 weeks ago by AABates	1 year 5 weeks ago by The Editor
Person lives and dies in MA but owns property in another state My uncle was a fairly wealthy guy and I don't know if he had a will. He was a little eccentric. He died last week leaving two pieces of real estate ...	1	1 year 3 weeks ago by TrentP	1 year 3 weeks ago by The Editor
Massachusetts Prudent Investor rule for trustee My dad who's dead now set up a trust for me with a pretty good amount of money. The trustee's a bank that my dad used to do business with. The bank ...	1	1 year 1 week ago by FRT	1 year 1 week ago by The Editor
Organ donation by healthcare agent under MA law? Last year I agreed to be my uncle's healthcare agent. I know he was interested in donating his body to a medical school but I'm pretty sure he never ...	1	1 year 2 days ago by JimBob8	1 year 1 day ago by The Editor
Blended families and estate planning I have an ex wife and two kids from that prior marriage. I also have a new wife and a child with her. I want to treat all of the kids the same in my...	1	50 weeks 6 days ago by Whipt	50 weeks 6 days ago by The Editor
Adopted Beneficiariesor Remaindermen of Trusts and Estates in MA Are adopted children treated the same as natural children in regards to being beneficiaries/remainderman of trusts? In other words do they have the sa...	1	48 weeks 4 days ago by bruins2011	48 weeks 3 days ago by Peter Bernardin
Pet trust in Massachusetts after animal dies I understand that I'm now able to set up a trust that will look after my pet after I'm gone because Massachusetts recently changed the law for that. ...	2	2 years 4 weeks ago by LouiseG	48 weeks 13 hours ago by admin
Changing Trustee of Irrevocable Trust My client wants to change her irrevocable trust because her daughter is the trustee and they no longer speak. Is this possible? How would I do so?	4	3 years 43 weeks ago by cat8148	48 weeks 12 hours ago by admin
Beneficiary wants accounting of MA trust Several years ago my mother died and left some property in a trust with my uncle as trustee. I'm not sure but I think the uncle's kids get some of th...	2	2 years 46 weeks ago by Donaldson	48 weeks 10 hours ago by admin
Sue trustee for bad investments under MA law? My dad set up a trust for me before he passed away but I don't get the actual money until I'm 25. For now the trustee manages the money and I get inco...	2	2 years 35 weeks ago by Anonymous	48 weeks 10 hours ago by admin
New Uniform Trust Code in Massachusetts It's been a busy year for MA attorneys who specialize in estate planning and probate matters. Various parts of the new MA Uniform Probate Code&n...	0	46 weeks 6 days ago by The Editor	n/a
Retrieving MA Abandone Property when original will was never filed with Probate My grandfather died in 1980 and we just discovered that an insurance policy with a closed bank was never paid out and was recovered by the state. His ...	1	46 weeks 6 days ago by maprobate_qa	46 weeks 5 days ago by Peter Bernardin
Who gets annuity after death in MA? My dad has an annuity that he and my mom bought when they were married and she was still alive. I haven't seen the annuity because my dad is sort of ...	1	44 weeks 5 days ago by RikG0	44 weeks 5 days ago by The Editor
Volunteering Joint Account to be Probated? If a surviving joint account owner, the son/daughter of the deceased, wishes to share the account funds with siblings (because she understands that to...	1	46 weeks 5 days ago by Mayflower	44 weeks 5 hours ago by BostonLawMan
Pros and Cons of Estate vs. Heirs Selling Home Hello. A divorced man died intestate this year (2012). His adult children, his only heirs, want to sell his home. It seems easier for the estate (per...	1	43 weeks 2 days ago by Mayflower	43 weeks 4 hours ago by TheLawyerKnows
Compelling Exector to Submit Inventories and Disbursement Plan Mother passed away on Sept 17 , 2011. 1. Will her will be probated under the new probate law or old? Is that the discretion of the Executor? ...	1	44 weeks 9 hours ago by Whaler	42 weeks 5 hours ago by TheLawyerKnows
Accountings - Trustee as current and sole income beneficiary My aunt created a trust years ago. She died about 10 years ago and her husband is current trustee and current sole income beneficiary. The other con...	2	37 weeks 5 days ago by Interested party	36 weeks 3 days ago by The Editor
Removing/Adding Executor to a will My Grandmother and Grandfather had my uncle and my mother as executors to their will. Recently my mother found out that when my grandmother died, my u...	1	34 weeks 6 days ago by BBirmingham	34 weeks 6 days ago by The Editor
MA Probate & Intestate Estate My parents were divorced in 1979 but were Tenants By The Entirety in the marital home. The divorce agreement left no rights of the either party in the...	2	43 weeks 4 days ago by bsprtsgrp	34 weeks 3 days ago by cynthiaambuster
Joint Tenancy & Tax Implications upon Death My father received property valued ~$250,000 from his father in 1999 via a quitclaim deed. His father received it via probate from his mother in 1974....	1	33 weeks 5 days ago by srlittle6	33 weeks 4 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Powers of personal representative in MA estate Hello. My uncle died two weeks ago and my family is supporting me in becoming the personal representative as my uncle requested in his will. My qu...	2	28 weeks 10 hours ago by JimW81	28 weeks 13 min ago by Peter Bernardin
Change terms of trust in MA? Hello. My parents set up a trust a while ago and made me the trustee. The trust says that when my father dies (my mom is dead already) then the mone...	2	30 weeks 5 days ago by SamanthaT	25 weeks 4 days ago by Thomas Swain Smith
Probate estate taxes and costs in MA I was curious to know what the % of estates go through probate (rather than just having a formal trust)? Also, what are typical percentages that are c...	2	23 weeks 4 days ago by tfernandes49	23 weeks 3 days ago by Thomas Swain Smith
Difference between a will and a trust Hello. I'm sorry if this is a stupid question but when I decided to do something about my estate plan I realized I don't really even know the differe...	2	1 year 13 weeks ago by Devlin9	23 weeks 3 days ago by Thomas Swain Smith
Revocable Trust-Estate Planning Document's Title Conflict 12/12/2012 *I hope my not using my real name will not prevent my question from being posted and answered. The title- home part of my trust documen...	6	26 weeks 6 days ago by middle-aged	23 weeks 3 days ago by Thomas Swain Smith
Can an adopted child still inherit from birth parent in MA? Hello there. My mother and father divorced when I was 11 years old. Later, my mom remarried and my step-dad adopted me. My birth-father died recentl...	2	49 weeks 13 hours ago by GBN78	23 weeks 3 days ago by Thomas Swain Smith
Intestacy laws in Massachusetts I know you talked about this in some other posts, but can you explain a little bit about exactly who gets what when a person dies without a will in MA...	3	1 year 46 weeks ago by GeraldB	23 weeks 1 day ago by Thomas Swain Smith
Lost will and possible inheritance dispute in Massachusetts My 39 year-old girlfriend's father just died, but she cannot find the will he said he had made out to include her. Her mother, who claims to have been...	1	22 weeks 6 days ago by Timaloha	22 weeks 6 days ago by The Editor
Secret Child seeks inheritance from MA estate My husband and I just buried his Dad. Immediately after burial, his Dad's 20 year mistress claims she was NOT his mistress, but his daughter and is as...	2	20 weeks 8 hours ago by Kitty	19 weeks 6 days ago by Kitty
Probate jurisdiction question I hope I'm not duplicating my post; it didn't seem to show up the first time. My Dad passed away at my Massachusetts home after a 5 month battl...	4	2 years 15 weeks ago by Margaux	19 weeks 1 day ago by admin
How can the beneficairies of a will remove the old and appoint an new executor? My father past away over three years ago and the estate is still in probate with the Suffolk Probate and Family Court. The executor in charge has ...	4	19 weeks 3 days ago by needestatehelp	19 weeks 1 day ago by admin
Voluntary Administration I was named the Executor of a legal will and had just notified the successor executor and other beneficiaries, including the POA, by certified letter...	2	19 weeks 5 days ago by airie32	18 weeks 5 days ago by airie32
Must this will be probated under Massachusetts law? My father passed away recently. His will leaves everything to Mom, with no other beneficiaries, but he was officially poor at time of death (on MassHe...	3	18 weeks 3 days ago by Graewynd	18 weeks 10 hours ago by admin
Harassment for executor probating Massachusetts will I was named the Executor of my father's will. I just filed for Probate. Meanwhile, my siblings (all are beneficiaries, one was POA, one is Successor A...	2	15 weeks 5 days ago by airie32	15 weeks 1 day ago by airie32
Handicapped child disinherited through undue influence in MA? When my beloved father a retired high ranking Navy officer died this past year I was under the understanding that his children would of course inherit...	1	11 weeks 1 day ago by Scott	11 weeks 11 hours ago by The Editor
InTerrorem clauses in Massachusetts Wills or trusts My mother passed away leaving a will with an in torrorem clause, as well as a separate Realty Trust that has her children as beneficiaries ( two sons ...	2	10 weeks 1 day ago by Whaler	10 weeks 1 day ago by Whaler
Investment account held as tenants by the entirety? What are the advantages and disadvantages of titling an investment account as tenacy by the entirety rather than joint tenants with right of survivors...	1	9 weeks 4 hours ago by Rocker	8 weeks 1 day ago by The Editor
Voluntary Administration - How Detailed a Description of Property? I am filing a Voluntary Administration Statement in order to transfer the title of my late father's car so I can sell it and distribute the proceeds t...	1	6 weeks 4 days ago by masseddie	6 weeks 3 days ago by Peter Bernardin
Probate estate in MA when there is no will (father's estate) My Father died almost 9 months ago without a will. His wife and him were separated at the time being and she is supporting my decision to become the R...	2	6 weeks 4 days ago by Lilieblue	6 weeks 3 days ago by Peter Bernardin
To probate or not to probate... My husband died suddenly 5 weeks ago. No will was ever made and he neglected to obtain life insurance. After all, who thinks they'll die healthy and ...	1	9 weeks 10 hours ago by LMK	6 weeks 2 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
State of MA says estate property undervalued My father's estate was settled a few years ago in MA. Now the state of Mass is telling us that the properties were undervalued and we now owe addition...	1	11 weeks 2 days ago by Barryg2	6 weeks 2 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Is Money Inherited via Joint Account a Taxable Gift? If my mother made me joint owner of her account so that, upon her death, I inherit the balance outside of probate, would the funds be deemed a gift up...	1	4 weeks 4 days ago by Mayflower	4 weeks 2 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Which Whole Life Policy Value to Use in Estate Inventory If ownership of a whole life insurance policy on a third party (decedent was owner and beneficiary) transferred to the insured, what value is included...	1	2 weeks 4 hours ago by Mayflower	1 week 5 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
minimum steps required to settle an estate - is Voluntary Administration required? Hi, I am curious to know the bare minimum steps required in the process of settling a small estate. Specifically, I am wondering if we can skip ev...	1	2 weeks 4 days ago by guywithaquestion	1 week 4 days ago by Boston Probate ...
Probating A Will in MA After the Three Year Limitation- Is it Possible? My dad died in 2006. He had made a proper will leaving the house to my younger brother, then to me if he should die. My brother never probated the wil...	1	14 weeks 4 days ago by Merrill	1 week 8 hours ago by Boston Probate ...
Sale of property by deed by executor in MA Can an executor sell or transfer property from an estate without having all beneficiaries of the estate sign off on a deed? My aunt's will left her es...	4	1 week 5 days ago by executor428	6 days 10 hours ago by Boston Probate ...