Massachusetts estate administration
Small-estate limit: $25,000
This guide explains probate in Massachusetts: Massachusetts calls the small personal-property route voluntary administration and files it in the Probate and Family Court.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
After 30 days, an interested person may file a voluntary-administration statement when the Massachusetts domiciliary left only personal property and the non-motor-vehicle personal property does not exceed $25,000. A prior petition for appointment disqualifies the route; one motor vehicle may be included outside that $25,000 wording.
Voluntary administration / collection of personal property by affidavitSimplified route
After 30 days, an interested person may file a voluntary-administration statement when the Massachusetts domiciliary left only personal property and the non-motor-vehicle personal property does not exceed $25,000. A prior petition for appointment disqualifies the route; one motor vehicle may be included outside that $25,000 wording.
Eligibility and caveatsCourt cost
The statutory filing fee is $100 for a statement of voluntary administration and $375 for formal or informal probate/appointment.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation. A will provision may be renounced before qualifying when no compensation contract exists; the statute states no percentage base or extraordinary-services schedule.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Section 3-803 states a general one-year-from-death action limit but also contains exceptions and equitable relief; § 3-801 is reserved. It cannot honestly be collapsed into publication, actual-notice, appointment, and outer-limit deadlines as one number.
G.L. c. 190B, § 3-803 (Massachusetts Legislature; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsThese are the Massachusetts provisions read end to end on the enacting state’s own site, rather than summarised from a secondary source. The middle column is what reading each one actually established for Massachusetts — not a restatement of the topic — and the last column records the date the wording was read, so a later amendment can be spotted by comparing dates.
| Citation | What reading it established | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| G.L. c. 262, § 40 | Massachusetts charges the same $375 to open an estate, then prices the accounts by size and by year — court and filing cost note | 2026-09-17 |
| G.L. c. 190B, § 3-803 | Massachusetts gives creditors a year, and measures it from the death itself — creditor deadline note | 2026-09-17 |
| M.G.L. c. 190B, § 3-1201 | Massachusetts sets a low ceiling but does not count the car against it — small estate route note | 2026-09-17 |
| M.G.L. c. 190B, §§ 3-719, 3-1201 | Massachusetts publishes no fee schedule, and its cheapest route has no fee at all — representative pay note | 2026-09-17 |
Massachusetts decision map
Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the Massachusetts amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.
| Question | Recorded Massachusetts answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Voluntary administration / collection of personal property by affidavit | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; gross value for this route. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $25,000 | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 30 days after death; Section 3-803 states a general one-year-from-death action limit but also contains exceptions and equitable relief; § 3-801 is reserved. It cannot honestly be collapsed into publication, actual-notice, appointment, and outer-limit deadlines as one number. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | 2 published schedules; the proceeding and value basis control the total. | Ask the Probate and Family Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation. A will provision may be renounced before qualifying when no compensation contract exists; the statute states no percentage base or extraordinary-services schedule. The relevant base is the estate accounting. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Arithmetic illustration
The recorded Massachusetts ceiling is $25,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as gross value for this route. Counted that way, $18,800 sits below the Massachusetts figure and $31,300 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Massachusetts counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the Massachusetts ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $18,800 | Below $25,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $31,300 | Above $25,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Official material
Massachusetts publishes statewide probate forms, a court fee page, and a statewide court-location directory.
Source trail
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
Reviewed source note: If 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, any interested person
Reviewed source note: for the filing of a petition for public administration, for formal removal of personal representative, for statement of voluntary administration, $100;
Reviewed source note: A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for services. If a will provides for compensation of the personal representative and there is no contract with the decedent regarding compensation, the personal representative may renounce the provision before qualifying and be entitled to reasonable compensation.
Reviewed source note: a personal representative shall not be held to answer to an action by a creditor of the deceased unless such action is commenced within 1 year after the date of death of the deceased