Clear Money Guide
What this state guide covers
A quick view of the questions, practical details and source notes below.
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Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: Massachusetts lets a small estate be settled with a sworn affidavit, usable 30 days after death, and it is filed with the court (or the office that holds probate authority). Real estate: no — personal property only.
The verdicts
| Instrument | a sworn affidavit |
|---|---|
| Wait after death | 30 days after death |
| Where it goes | filed with the court (or the office that holds probate authority) |
| Notarised? | Yes |
| Reaches real estate? | No — personal property only |
| Authority | MGL c.190B §3-1201 |
What the statute actually says
after the expiration of 30 days from the death of the decedent… file with said court upon a form prescribed by the court a statement, verified by oath, or affirmation containing…
— MGL c.190B §3-1201
The dollar limit
Voluntary administration (MGL c.190B §3-1201): personal property ≤$25,000 (excluding one motor vehicle), no solely owned real estate, 30-day wait; filed with Probate & Family Court for $115.
The form
We did not locate an official free state form. That does not mean none exists — many states publish forms through individual county or probate offices rather than a single statewide page, and several court websites blocked automated access entirely. Ask the probate court or register of wills in the county where the person lived before paying anyone for a form.
The waiting period is the part that voids transfers
Using the instrument before its waiting period has run is the most common way one of these fails. A bank can refuse it, and a transfer made on a defective affidavit can be unwound — with the person who signed it personally exposed, because these are sworn statements made under penalty of perjury. Wait the full period and count from the date of death.
What could not be verified
mass.gov self-help pages returned 403 on every path tried, so no official form URL was confirmed. The instrument is formally called “Voluntary Administration” and is docketed by the Register of Probate as a permanent court record even though it is a sworn statement rather than a petition.
When this route is the wrong one
- The estate is over the limit. Full administration applies, and using the small-estate route anyway does not make it valid.
- There is real estate and this route does not reach it. A house needs the instrument that can actually transfer title.
- Someone disputes it. These procedures assume agreement; a contested estate belongs in front of a judge.
- Debts exceed assets. Paying the wrong creditor first can make you personally liable.
Related: how the process works, step by step · affidavit versus summary administration.
General information drawn from state statutes and official court materials, not legal advice. Probate and small-estate procedure is STATE law and differs in every state; thresholds, waiting periods and forms change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. Using the wrong instrument, or using one before its waiting period has run, can make a transfer ineffective and can expose the person who signs the affidavit to personal liability. We are not a law firm and we sell no forms.
Whether the estate needs this affidavit at all is the prior question, and the answer is on when probate is required in Massachusetts, which gives Massachusetts’s qualifying value for the small-estate route and what that route does not reach.
Related: whether Massachusetts requires the executor to post a bond.