Massachusetts Statutes

Section 2–107. [Kindred of Half Blood.] Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood.

Section 2–108. [Afterborn Heirs.] An individual in gestation at a particular time is treated as living at that time if the individual lives 120 hours or more after birth.

Section 2–109. [Advancements.] (a) If an individual dies intestate as to all or a portion of the estate, property the decedent gave during the decedent's lifetime to an individual who, at the decedent's death, is an heir is treated as an advancement against the heir's intestate s…

Section 2–110. [Debts to Decedent.] A debt owed to a decedent is not charged against the intestate share of any individual except the debtor. If the debtor fails to survive the decedent, the debt is not taken into account in computing the intestate share of the debtor's descendan…

Section 2–111. [Alienage.] No individual is disqualified to take as an heir because the individual or another individual through whom the individual claims is or has been an alien.

Section 2–112. [Dower and Curtesy Abolished.] The estates of dower and curtesy are abolished.

Section 2–113. [Individuals Related to Decedent Through Two Lines.] An individual who is related to the decedent through 2 lines of relationship is entitled to only a single share based on the relationship that would entitle the individual to the larger share.

Section 2–114. [Parent and Child Relationship.] (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), for purposes of intestate succession by, through, or from a person, an individual is the child of his natural parents, regardless of their marital status. The parent and child relationship m…

Section 2–301. [Entitlement of Spouse; Premarital Will.] (a) If a testator's surviving spouse married the testator after the testator executed a will, the surviving spouse is entitled to receive, as an intestate share, no less than the value of the share of the estate the spouse …

Section 2–302. [Omitted Children.] (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), if a testator fails to provide in a will for any children born or adopted after the execution of the will, the omitted after-born or after-adopted child receives a share in the estate as follows: (1) If …

Section 2–401. [Applicable Law.] This part applies to the estate of a decedent who dies domiciled in the commonwealth. Rights to exempt property, and discretionary family allowance for a decedent who dies not domiciled in the commonwealth are governed by the law of the decedent's…

Section 2–403. [Exempt Property.] (a) The decedent's surviving spouse is entitled from the estate to a value at date of death, not exceeding $10,000 in excess of any security interests therein, in household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances, and personal effects. If…

Section 2–404. [Discretionary Family Allowance.] (a) In addition to the right to exempt property, the decedent's surviving spouse and minor children whom the decedent was obligated to support and children who were in fact being supported by the decedent are entitled to a reasonab…

Section 2–405. [Source, Determination, and Documentation.] If the estate is otherwise sufficient, property specifically devised may not be used to satisfy rights to exempt property. Subject to this restriction, the surviving spouse, guardians of minor children, or children who ar…

Section 2–501. [Who May Make Will.] An individual 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will.

Section 2–502. [Execution of Wills.] (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) and in sections 2–506 and 2–513, a will shall be: (1) in writing; (2) signed by the testator or in the testator's name by some other individual in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's…

Section 2–504. [Self–Proved Will.] (a) A will may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved, by acknowledgment thereof by the testator and affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state in which…

Section 2–505. [Who May Witness.] (a) An individual generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will. (b) The signing of a will by an interested witness shall not invalidate the will or any provision of it except that a devise to a witness or a spouse of such wi…

Section 2–506. [Choice of Law as to Execution.] A written will is valid if executed in compliance with section 2–502 or if its execution complies with the law at the time of execution of the place where the will is executed, or of the law of the place where at the time of executi…

Section 2–507. [Revocation by Writing or by Act.] (a) A will or any part thereof is revoked: (1) by executing a subsequent will that revokes the previous will or part expressly or by inconsistency; or (2) by performing a revocatory act on the will, if the testator performed the a…

Section 2–508. [Revocation by Change of Circumstances.] Except as provided in sections 2–301, 2–803 and 2–804, a change of circumstances shall not revoke a will or any part of it.

Section 2–509. [Revival of Revoked Will.] (a) If a subsequent will that wholly revoked a previous will is thereafter revoked by a revocatory act under section 2–507(a)(2), the previous will remains revoked unless it is revived. The previous will is revived if it is evident from t…

Section 2–510. [Incorporation by Reference.] A writing in existence when a will is executed may be incorporated by reference if the language of the will manifests this intent and describes the writing sufficiently to permit its identification.

Section 2–511. [Testamentary Additions to Trusts.] (a) A will may validly devise property to the trustee of a trust established or to be established (i) during the testator's lifetime by the testator, by the testator and some other person, or by some other person, including a fun…

Section 2–512. [Events of Independent Significance.] A will may dispose of property by reference to acts and events that have significance apart from their effect upon the dispositions made by the will, whether they occur before or after the execution of the will or before or aft…

Section 2–513. [Separate Writing Identifying Devise of Certain Types of Tangible Property.] A will may refer to a written statement or list to dispose of items of tangible personal property not otherwise specifically disposed of by the will, other than money. To be admissible und…

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…