How to Make a Valid Will in Massachusetts

Massachusetts in depth

Massachusetts adopted the Uniform Probate Code in 2012 (the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code, MGL c.190B), so on paper its will rules look like the modern, forgiving version used in many states. In practice, Massachusetts deliberately declined three of the UPC's most important liberalizing moves — and each one is a trap for anyone who assumes the standard code applies here.

The statute facts above give you the rules. This section covers where Massachusetts wills actually go wrong, the three places Massachusetts broke from the Uniform Probate Code, and the spousal protection built into Massachusetts law that you cannot simply draft around.

Five ways a Massachusetts will gets thrown out

Most Massachusetts wills that fail, fail on how they were signed — or on the assumption that Massachusetts follows the standard Uniform Probate Code when, in three key spots, it does not. These are the recurring ones.

1. 1

   Assuming a handwritten note counts as a will

   When Massachusetts adopted the MUPC it left out the holographic-will provision entirely. A handwritten, unwitnessed will has no legal effect here (MGL c.190B § 2-502 governs execution, and there is no holographic exception). A heartfelt letter in your own hand, however clear, is not a valid Massachusetts will. The one narrow path is a holograph that was valid where it was signed or where you were domiciled, which Massachusetts can honor under § 2-506 — not a note written at your Massachusetts kitchen table.

2. 2

   Using a beneficiary — or a beneficiary's spouse — as a witness

   This is the first place Massachusetts broke from the modern code. Most UPC states abolished the old "interested witness" penalty; Massachusetts kept a purging rule. Under MGL c.190B § 2-505, a gift to a witness (or to that witness's spouse) is void unless either two other witnesses signed who take nothing under the will, or the interested witness can prove the bequest was not the product of that witness's fraud or undue influence. Keep your witnesses neutral parties who inherit nothing, and their spouses out of the will, and the gift is never at risk.

3. 3

   Counting on a court to forgive a botched signing

   This is the second break from the standard code, and the most dangerous to rely on. The Uniform Probate Code includes a "harmless error" rule (§ 2-503) that lets a court admit a will with a signing defect if there is clear and convincing evidence you intended it as your will. Massachusetts left § 2-503 reserved — it deliberately declined that dispensing power. Massachusetts is a strict-compliance state: if the two-witness formalities in § 2-502 are not met, there is no safety valve to save the document. Get the execution right the first time.

4. 4

   Speaking your wishes instead of writing them

   Massachusetts requires a will to be in writing and signed with two witnesses (MGL c.190B § 2-502). An oral (nuncupative) will effectively does not work here — do not count on spoken wishes carrying legal force. A narrow historical carve-out for soldiers and mariners may survive from the pre-MUPC statute, but its status is uncertain and it should never be relied on. For everyone, in every ordinary situation, only a written, witnessed will is valid.

5. 5

   Signing electronically or by video

   As of 2026, Massachusetts has not enacted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act, and § 2-502 requires a written will signed with two witnesses. A scanned PDF, an e-signature, or a will "witnessed" over a video call is not a valid Massachusetts will. The valid route is still a physical document signed in wet ink with two witnesses.

You can't simply disinherit a spouse — the old c.191 § 15 forced share

This is the third and biggest place Massachusetts broke from the Uniform Probate Code. The UPC replaced older forced shares with an "augmented estate" elective share; Massachusetts declined it and kept the pre-code forced share under MGL c.191 § 15. A surviving spouse can "waive" the will within six months of the will being allowed by the Probate Court and take a statutory share instead.

What that share is depends on who else survives. If you leave issue (descendants), the spouse can waive and take one-third of your personal property and one-third of your real property. If you leave kindred but no issue, the spouse takes $25,000 plus one-half of the remaining personal and real property. If you leave no issue and no kindred, the spouse takes $25,000 plus one-half of the rest.

The distinctive Massachusetts mechanic is what happens above $25,000. To the extent the spouse's share exceeds $25,000, the excess is not handed over outright. The spouse takes $25,000 absolutely, and beyond that takes only a life estate in the excess real property and a life income interest in the excess personal property — not full ownership. Massachusetts is not a community-property state, so this forced share, not a community-property split, is the spouse's protection. If your plan depends on leaving a spouse less than this, build the § 15 share into the plan rather than ignoring it.

The interested-witness trap Massachusetts kept

Under the standard Uniform Probate Code a witness who also inherits creates no problem at all — the code abolished the penalty. Massachusetts did not follow. MGL c.190B § 2-505 keeps a purging rule: a devise to a witness, or to that witness's spouse, is void unless one of two things is true. Either at least two other subscribing witnesses signed who are not benefited under the will, or the interested witness proves the gift was not the product of that witness's own fraud or undue influence.

The will itself survives an interested witness — only the gift to that witness is at risk, and only if the safe-harbor conditions aren't met. But the simplest practice avoids the fight entirely: use two witnesses who take nothing under the will, and make sure neither witness's spouse is a beneficiary either. Then no bequest ever has to be defended.

No safety valve: Massachusetts is a strict-compliance state

In many Uniform Probate Code states, a will with a signing defect is not automatically dead — a court can use the "harmless error" or dispensing power (UPC § 2-503) to admit it if the person offering it proves by clear and convincing evidence that you intended the document to be your will. That rule can rescue a will witnessed by only one person, or signed but never formally attested.

Massachusetts left § 2-503 reserved. It considered the dispensing power and declined it, which makes Massachusetts a strict-compliance state: the execution requirements of § 2-502 must actually be satisfied, and a court cannot cure a shortfall by finding that you "meant" the document to be your will. This is exactly why the two-witness formalities carry so much weight here. There is no courtroom rescue after the fact — get the signing right while you can.

The self-proving affidavit, and where a Massachusetts will is proved

Massachusetts does not require notarization for a will to be valid — two witnesses do that (MGL c.190B § 2-502). But it offers a self-proving affidavit (§ 2-504): the testator and the two witnesses can swear before a notary, either at the time of signing or at any later date, that the will was properly executed. A self-proved will can be admitted to probate without producing the witnesses to testify years later. It changes nothing about the will's underlying validity; it just makes proving the will easier.

Massachusetts wills are proved in the Probate and Family Court, in the county where you were domiciled — your primary residence — at death (§ 3-201). For a very small estate there is a simpler route: voluntary administration (§ 3-1201) is available when the estate is entirely personal property worth no more than $25,000 (one motor vehicle is excluded from that cap), starting 30 days after death. Most estates, though, go through ordinary probate, which is exactly why a clean, self-proved execution keeps the case uncontested and moving.

Massachusetts has its own estate tax

Massachusetts is one of a minority of states with a state estate tax, and it is separate from the federal estate tax. For deaths on or after January 1, 2023, the exemption is $2,000,000 (delivered through a $99,600 credit), up from $1,000,000 before. Rates are graduated and top out at 16%. There is no separate Massachusetts inheritance tax.

The practical point is that the Massachusetts threshold is far lower than the federal one, so estates that owe nothing federally can still owe Massachusetts estate tax once the estate exceeds the $2,000,000 threshold. If your estate is anywhere near that line — counting the house, retirement accounts, and life insurance — this is worth planning for with a Massachusetts estate-tax professional rather than assuming the federal exemption covers you.

Marriage, a new child, and divorce all rewrite a Massachusetts will

If you marry after signing your will and never update it, your new spouse is an "omitted spouse" and takes at least the share they would have received had you died without a will (MGL c.190B § 2-301). A child born or adopted after the will who is left unprovided for is similarly protected and takes a statutory share (§ 2-302); a claim reaching real property must be filed within one year.

Divorce cuts the other way. A final divorce or annulment automatically revokes any disposition in your will to the former spouse and severs survivorship rights in property you held jointly with them, as if the former spouse had disclaimed or died first (§ 2-804). The safe move is the same in every case: revisit the will after any marriage, divorce, birth, or adoption.

Common questions about Massachusetts wills

Sources

• MGL c.190B § 2-501 & § 2-502 — Who may make a will; execution
• MGL c.190B § 2-503 — Harmless error (reserved in Massachusetts)
• MGL c.190B § 2-504 — Self-proved will
• MGL c.190B § 2-505 — Interested (beneficiary) witness
• MGL c.190B § 2-102 — Intestate share of surviving spouse
• MGL c.191 § 15 — Waiver of will; surviving spouse's forced share
• MGL c.190B § 2-804 — Revocation on divorce or annulment
• MGL c.190B § 3-1201 — Voluntary administration (small estate)
• Massachusetts Estate Tax Guide

Who Can Make a Will in Massachusetts?

You must be at least 18 years old to make a will in Massachusetts. No statutory exceptions for minors. The testator must be of sound mind, understanding the nature and extent of their property, the natural objects of their bounty, and the disposition being made

Signing Requirements

Must be in writing. Can be typed, printed, or handwritten. If you are physically unable to sign, Another person may sign in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction (MGL c. 190B § 2-502).

Witness Requirements in Massachusetts

Massachusetts requires 2 witnesses. Must be competent individuals. Each witness must sign within a reasonable time after witnessing either the signing of the will or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or the will.

Interested witnesses: An interested witness does not invalidate the will under Massachusetts UPC approach (MGL c. 190B § 2-505)

Notarization in Massachusetts

Notarization is not required for a will to be valid in Massachusetts. Not required for validity; used for self-proving affidavit

Self-Proving Affidavit

Massachusetts allows a self-proving affidavit, which simplifies probate by eliminating the need for witnesses to testify in court. Testator and witnesses sign an affidavit before a notary public (MGL c. 190B § 2-504)

Handwritten (Holographic) Wills

Massachusetts does not recognize holographic wills. Holographic wills are not recognized in Massachusetts

Electronic Wills

Massachusetts does not currently recognize electronic wills. Massachusetts does not currently have an electronic wills statute. During COVID-19, temporary measures allowed remote witnessing but these have expired

How to Revoke a Will in Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, a will can be revoked by:

• •Executing a subsequent will that revokes the previous will expressly or by inconsistency
• •Performing a revocatory act on the will by the testator or by another in the testator's conscious presence and at their direction

MGL c. 190B § 2-507

Special Provisions in Massachusetts

Massachusetts is a separate property/common law state. Surviving spouse has an elective share. Massachusetts adopted the Uniform Probate Code in 2012. Divorce automatically revokes dispositions to the former spouse (MGL c. 190B § 2-804)

Relevant Massachusetts Statutes

• MGL c. 190B § 2-501 (Who may make a will)
• MGL c. 190B § 2-502 (Execution; witnessed wills)
• MGL c. 190B § 2-504 (Self-proved will)
• MGL c. 190B § 2-507 (Revocation)
• MGL c. 190B § 2-202 (Elective share)