Wills
Wills
Secure Your Legacy with Confidence
A Last Will and Testament is one of the foundational estate planning documents recognized under Massachusetts law. A will is a legal document that directs how a person’s assets, property, and estate are distributed after death. A Massachusetts will may also nominate a Personal Representative to administer the estate and nominate guardians for minor children. Properly drafted wills are an essential part of comprehensive Massachusetts estate planning and are commonly used alongside trusts, powers of attorney, health care proxies, and other estate planning documents.
Under Massachusetts law, a valid will must comply with specific legal requirements. The person creating the will, known as the testator, must generally be at least eighteen years old and possess testamentary capacity at the time the will is executed. Massachusetts wills must typically be signed by the testator and witnessed by at least two competent witnesses in accordance with the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code.
A will allows the testator to direct how probate assets are distributed after death. Probate assets may include Massachusetts real estate, bank accounts, personal property, vehicles, business interests, investments, and other individually owned assets that do not automatically transfer by beneficiary designation or joint ownership. Without a valid will, estate assets are distributed according to Massachusetts intestacy laws rather than personal instructions.
Massachusetts intestate succession laws determine how property is distributed when a person dies without a valid will. Depending on family circumstances, assets may pass to a surviving spouse, children, parents, siblings, or other heirs under Massachusetts probate law. A properly drafted Last Will and Testament allows estate distribution instructions to be specifically outlined rather than determined by statutory intestacy provisions.
A Massachusetts will should nominate a Personal Representative, sometimes referred to as an executor, to manage the probate estate. The Personal Representative may be responsible for filing probate documents with the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court, collecting and valuing assets, paying debts and taxes, handling creditor claims, and distributing estate assets to beneficiaries according to the terms of the will.
Wills are also commonly used to nominate guardians for minor children. Guardian nominations contained within a will may help guide the Probate and Family Court regarding parental preferences in the event both parents are deceased or otherwise unable to care for a child. Guardianship provisions are an important component of estate planning for parents with minor children.
Certain assets may pass outside of a will regardless of estate planning provisions. Assets with beneficiary designations, payable-on-death accounts, jointly owned property with rights of survivorship, retirement accounts, and life insurance proceeds may transfer directly to designated beneficiaries outside of probate administration. Estate planning coordination is important to ensure wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations work together properly.
A Pour-Over Will is commonly used alongside a Revocable Living Trust in Massachusetts estate planning. A pour-over will is designed to transfer qualifying probate assets into a trust upon death so the assets may ultimately be distributed according to the terms of the trust agreement.
A will does not avoid probate in Massachusetts. Instead, a will directs how probate assets are administered through the probate process. Trust-based estate plans are often used in conjunction with wills when probate avoidance planning is a primary estate planning objective.
Massachusetts wills may generally be amended through a codicil or revoked and replaced with a new will, provided legal execution requirements are satisfied. Estate planning documents should be reviewed periodically following major life events such as marriage, divorce, birth of children, acquisition of significant assets, relocation, retirement, or changes in tax laws.
Comprehensive Massachusetts estate planning often includes:
- Revocable Trust
- Pour-Over Will
- Durable Power of Attorney
- Health Care Proxy
- HIPAA Authorization
- Advanced Health Care Directive
- Guardianship Nominations
Estate planning may help address probate administration, incapacity planning, guardianship planning, asset distribution, beneficiary protection, estate tax planning, long-term care planning, and trust administration under Massachusetts law.