Chapter 190B

Section 2–514. [Contracts Concerning Succession.] A contract to make or not to make a will or devise, or to revoke or not to revoke a will or devise, or to die intestate, if executed after the effective date of this article, may be established only by (i) provisions of a will sta…

Section 2–515. [Deposit of Will With Court in Testator's Lifetime.] A will may be deposited by the testator or the testator's agent with any court for safekeeping, under rules of the court. The will shall be sealed and kept confidential. During the testator's lifetime, a deposite…

Section 2–516. [Duty of Custodian of Will; Liability.] After the death of a testator a person having custody of a will of the testator shall deliver it within thirty days after notice of the death to a person able to secure its probate and if none is known, to an appropriate cour…

Section 2–517. [Penalty Clause for Contest.] A provision in a will purporting to penalize an interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate is enforceable.

Section 2–601. [Scope.] In the absence of a finding of a contrary intention shown by the terms of the will, the rules of construction in this part control the construction of a will.

Section 2–602. [Will May Pass All Property and After–Acquired Property.] Property owned by the testator at death and any acquired by the testator's estate thereafter passes under the will unless a different intention appears.

Section 2–603. [Anti–Lapse; Deceased Devisee; Class Gifts.] If a devisee who is a grandparent or a lineal descendant of a grandparent is dead at the time of execution of the will, fails to survive the testator, or is treated as if he predeceased the testator, the issue of the dec…

Section 2–604. [Failure of Testamentary Provision.] (a) Except as provided in section 2–603, a devise, other than a residuary devise, that fails for any reason becomes a part of the residue. (b) Except as provided in section 2–603, if the residue is devised to 2 or more persons, …

Section 2–605. [Increase in Devised Securities; Accessions.] (a) If a testator executes a will that devises securities and the testator then owned securities that meet the description in the will, the devise includes additional securities owned by the testator at death to the ext…

Section 2–606. [Nonademption of Specific Devises; Unpaid Proceeds of Sale, Condemnation, or Insurance; Sale by Conservator or Agent.] (a) A specific devisee has a right to the specifically devised property in the testator's estate at death and: (1) any balance of the purchase pri…

Section 2–607. [Nonexoneration.] A specific devise passes subject to any mortgage interest existing at the date of death, without right of exoneration, regardless of a general directive in the will to pay debts.

Section 2–608. [Exercise of Power of Appointment.] (a) In the absence of a requirement that a power of appointment be exercised by a reference, or by an express or specific reference, to the power, a general residuary clause in a will, or a will making general disposition of all …

Section 2–609. [Ademption by Satisfaction.] (a) Property a testator gave in the testator's lifetime to a person is treated as a satisfaction of a devise in whole or in part, only if (i) the will provides for deduction of the gift, (ii) the testator declared in a contemporaneous w…

Section 2–610. [Annuities.] (a) If an annuity, or the use, rent, income or interest of property, real or personal, is given by will or by trust instrument for the benefit of a person for life or until the happening of a contingency, such person shall be entitled to receive and en…

Section 2–701. [Scope.] In the absence of a finding of a contrary intention shown by the terms of the will, the rules of construction in this part control the construction of a governing instrument. The rules of construction in this part apply to a governing instrument of any typ…

Section 2–702. [Requirement of Survival.] (a) For the purposes of this code, except as provided in subsection (d), an individual who is not established to have survived an event, including the death of another individual, is deemed to have predeceased the event. (b) Except as pro…

Section 2–703. [Choice of Law as to Meaning and Effect of Donative Dispositions.] The meaning and legal effect of a donative disposition is determined by the local law of the state selected by the transferor in the governing instrument, unless the application of that law is contr…

Section 2–704. [Taxes on QTIPS.] A direction in a will or instrument of trust to pay taxes caused by, resulting from, or imposed by reason of the death of the testator or donor, as the case may be, out of the decedent's probate estate or trust estate or other property, shall not …

Section 2–705. [Class Gifts Construed to Accord with Intestate Succession.] (a) Adopted individuals and individuals born out of wedlock, and their respective descendants if appropriate to the class, are included in class gifts and other terms of relationship in accordance with th…

Section 2–706. [Life insurance; retirement plan; account with POD designation; transfer-on-death registration; deceased beneficiary.] (a) If a beneficiary fails to survive the decedent and is a grandparent or a descendant of a grandparent, the following shall apply: (1) If the be…

Section 2–707. [Survivorship with respect to future interests under terms of trust; substitute takers.] (a) If an instrument is silent on the requirement of survivorship, a future interest under the terms of a trust shall be contingent on the beneficiary surviving the distributio…

Section 2–708. [Class Gifts to ''Descendants'', ''Issue'', or ''Heirs of the Body''; Form of Distribution If None Specified.] If a class gift in favor of ''descendants'', ''issue'', or ''heirs of the body'' does not specify the manner in which the property is to be distributed am…

Section 2–709. [Representation; Per Capita at Each Generation; Per Stirpes.] (a) In this section: (1) ''Deceased child'' or ''deceased descendant'', a child or a descendant who predeceased the distribution date. (2) ''Distribution date'', with respect to an interest, is the time …

Section 2–710. [Worthier Title Doctrine Abolished.] The doctrine of worthier title shall not exist in the commonwealth either as a rule of law or as a rule of construction. Language in a governing instrument describing the beneficiaries of a donative disposition as the transferor…

Section 2–711. [Future Interests in ''Heirs'' and Like.] If an applicable statute or a governing instrument calls for a future distribution to or creates a future interest in a designated individual's ''heirs'', ''heirs at law'', ''next of kin'', ''relatives'', or ''family'', or …

Section 2–801. [Disclaimer of Property Interests.] (a) The following words as used in this section shall have the following meanings, unless otherwise expressly provided or the context otherwise requires:— ''Beneficiary'', any person to whom, and any estate, trust, corporation or…

Section 2–802. [Effect of Divorce, Annulment, and Decree of Separation.] (a) An individual who is divorced from the decedent is not a surviving spouse unless, by virtue of a subsequent marriage, the individual is married to the decedent at the time of death. A judgment of separat…

Section 2–803. [Effect of Homicide on Intestate Succession, Wills, Trusts, Joint Assets, Life Insurance, and Beneficiary Designation.] (a) In this section: (1) ''Disposition or appointment of property'', includes a transfer of an item of property or any other benefit to a benefic…

Section 2–804. [Revocation of Probate and Nonprobate Transfers by Divorce; No Revocation by Other Changes of Circumstances.] (a) In this section: (1) ''Disposition or appointment of property'', includes a transfer of an item of property or any other benefit to a beneficiary desig…

Section 2–901. [Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities.] (a) A nonvested property interest is invalid unless: (1) when the interest is created, it is certain to vest or terminate no later than 21 years after the death of an individual then alive; or (2) the interest either vests or …

Section 2–902. [When Nonvested Property Interest or Power of Attorney Appointment Created.] (a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) and in section 2–905(a), the time of creation of a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment is determined under general princ…

Section 2–903. [Reformation.] Upon the petition of an interested person, a court shall reform a disposition in the manner that most closely approximates the transferor's manifested plan of distribution and is within the 90 years allowed by section 2–901(a)(2), 2–901(b)(2), or 2–9…

Section 2–904. [Exclusions from Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities.] Section 2–901 shall not apply to: (1) a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment arising out of a nondonative transfer, except a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment arising out of…

Section 2–905. [Prospective Application.] (a) Except as extended by subsection (b), this part applies to a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment that is created on or after the effective date of this part. For purposes of this section, a nonvested property interes…

Section 2–906. [Supersession.] This part supersedes the rule of the common law known as the rule against perpetuities.

Section 3–1001. [Formal Proceedings Terminating Administration; Testate or Intestate; Order of General Protection.] (a) A personal representative or any interested person may petition for an order of complete settlement of the estate. The personal representative may petition at a…

Section 3–1003. [Closing Estates; By Sworn Statement of Personal Representative.] (a) Unless prohibited by order of the court and except for estates being administered in supervised administration proceedings, a personal representative may close an estate by filing with the court…

Section 3–1004. [Liability of Distributees to Claimants.] After assets of an estate have been distributed and subject to Section 3–1006, an undischarged claim not barred may be prosecuted in a proceeding against 1 or more distributees as an improper distribution in accordance wit…

Section 3–1005. [Limitations on Proceedings Against Personal Representative.] Unless previously barred by adjudication and except as provided in the closing statement, the rights of successors and of creditors whose claims have not otherwise been barred against the personal repre…

Section 3–1006. [Limitations on Actions and Proceedings Against Distributees.] Unless previously adjudicated in a formal testacy proceeding or in a proceeding settling the accounts of a personal representative or otherwise barred, the claim of a claimant to recover from a distrib…

Section 3–101. [Devolution of Estate at Death; Restrictions.] The power of a person to leave property by will, and the rights of creditors, devisees, and heirs to property are subject to the restrictions and limitations contained in this chapter to facilitate the prompt settlemen…

Section 3–102. [Necessity of Order of Probate for Will.] Except as provided in section 3–1201, to be effective to prove the transfer of any property or to nominate an executor, a will shall be declared to be valid by an order of informal probate by a magistrate or an adjudication…

Section 3–103. [Necessity of Appointment for Administration.] Except as otherwise provided in article IV, to acquire the powers and undertake the duties and liabilities of a personal representative of a decedent, a person shall be appointed by order of the court or a magistrate, …

Section 3–104. [Claims Against Decedent; Necessity of Administration.] No proceeding to enforce a claim against the estate of a decedent or a decedent's successors may be revived or commenced before the appointment of a personal representative. After the appointment and until dis…

Section 3–105. [Proceedings Affecting Devolution and Administration.] Persons interested in decedents' estates may petition the magistrate for determination in the informal proceedings provided in this article, and may petition the court for orders in formal proceedings within th…

Section 3–106. [Proceedings Within the Exclusive Jurisdiction of Court; Service; Jurisdiction Over Persons.] In proceedings within the exclusive jurisdiction of the court where notice is required by this chapter or by rule, and in proceedings to construe probated wills or determi…

Section 3–107. [Scope of Proceedings; Proceedings Independent; Exception.] Unless supervised administration as described in part 5 is involved, (1) each proceeding before the court or a magistrate is independent of any other proceeding involving the same estate; (2) petitions for…

Section 3–108. [Probate, testacy and appointment proceedings; ultimate time limit.] No informal probate or appointment proceeding or formal testacy or appointment proceeding, other than a proceeding to probate a will previously probated at the testator's domicile and appointment …

Section 3–109. [Statutes of Limitation on Decedent's Cause of Action.] No statute of limitation running on a cause of action belonging to a decedent which had not been barred as of the date of death, shall apply to bar a cause of action surviving the decedent's death sooner than …

Section 3–1101. [Effect of Approval of Agreements Involving Trusts, Inalienable Interests, or Interests of Third Persons.] A compromise of any controversy as to admission to probate of any instrument offered for formal probate as the will of a decedent, as to the administration o…