How to Remove an Executor in Massachusetts — Grounds, Steps, and Deadlines (2026)

✓ Verified September 2026

To remove an executor in Massachusetts, you ask the court that appointed the Personal representative — since the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (MUPC) took effect March 31, 2012, Massachusetts uses the single term “personal representative” for what used to be called an executor (named in a will), administrator (no will), or administrator with the will annexed.

Older estates and everyday conversation still use “executor,” but every current Massachusetts court form and statute says personal representative. to take the job away, and the court will do it only on a ground the statute recognizes.

This guide gives the Massachusetts answer in plain English: the grounds, who has standing, what the filing is called, what the court can do the same day to protect the estate, and what happens after. All facts are from Massachusetts law, verified as of September 2026.

Remove an Executor in Massachusetts: At a Glance

Here are the Massachusetts facts that decide most requests to remove an executor in Massachusetts:

When a Court Will Let You Remove an Executor in Massachusetts

An executor who is slow, unfriendly, or making decisions you disagree with is not, by itself, removable. Courts appoint a Personal representative — since the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (MUPC) took effect March 31, 2012, Massachusetts uses the single term “personal representative” for what used to be called an executor (named in a will), administrator (no will), or administrator with the will annexed.

Older estates and everyday conversation still use “executor,” but every current Massachusetts court form and statute says personal representative. to carry out the will, and they protect that appointment.

What changes the picture is a breach of duty: money missing or mixed with the executor’s own, an inventory or accounting that was never filed, a sale to a relative below value, a refusal to communicate with beneficiaries for months, a conflict of interest, or a conviction or incapacity that makes the job impossible.

Every state’s statute lists the grounds, and the request to remove an executor in Massachusetts succeeds when the facts fit one of them.

Grounds to Remove an Executor in Massachusetts

Under G.L. c.

190B, § 3-611(b), cause for removal exists if it is shown that: (1) removal would be in the best interests of the estate; or (2) it is shown that the personal representative or the person who sought appointment intentionally misrepresented material facts in the proceedings leading to the appointment; or (3) the personal representative has disregarded an order of the court;

or (4) has become incapable of discharging the duties of the office; or (5) has mismanaged the estate; or (6) has failed to perform any duty pertaining to the office.

In practice “failure to perform any duty” is the ground that covers not filing the inventory within 3 months under § 3-706, refusing to account, refusing to distribute, or ignoring a court order. Massachusetts does not have a separate criminal-conviction disqualification listed in § 3-611; conduct like self-dealing or theft is normally pleaded as mismanagement, breach of duty, or best-interests-of-the-estate.

The Steps to Remove an Executor in Massachusetts

Step one is to confirm you have standing — An “interested person” may petition for removal for cause at any time. G.L. c. 190B, § 1-201(24) defines interested persons to include heirs, devisees, children, spouses, creditors, beneficiaries, and any others having a property right in or claim against the estate, plus persons having priority for appointment as personal representative and other fiduciaries representing interested persons.

That covers beneficiaries under the will, intestate heirs, creditors with a claim against the estate, and a co-personal representative.

Whether the Probate and Family Court may open a removal proceeding entirely on its own initiative under § 3-611 is UNVERIFIED from the statutory text; the section is written around a petition by an interested person, though the court has separate authority to act on its own regarding orders it has issued..

Step two is the paper trail: write to the Personal representative — since the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (MUPC) took effect March 31, 2012, Massachusetts uses the single term “personal representative” for what used to be called an executor (named in a will), administrator (no will), or administrator with the will annexed.

Older estates and everyday conversation still use “executor,” but every current Massachusetts court form and statute says personal representative. asking for the inventory, the accounting, and an explanation, and keep the letter. Step three is the filing — Petition for Formal Removal of Personal Representative — Probate and Family Court form MPC 265, filed under G.L. c.

190B, § 3-611 in the Probate and Family Court in the county where the estate is being administered. The corresponding order the judge signs is the Decree and Order for Formal Removal of Personal Representative, form MPC 766. Notice must be given to the personal representative and to any other persons the court orders, in the manner prescribed by G.L. c.

190B, § 1-401 (which normally means a citation issued by the court with a published return day). — with the ground stated and the documents attached.

Step four is the hearing, where the Personal representative — since the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (MUPC) took effect March 31, 2012, Massachusetts uses the single term “personal representative” for what used to be called an executor (named in a will), administrator (no will), or administrator with the will annexed.

Older estates and everyday conversation still use “executor,” but every current Massachusetts court form and statute says personal representative. answers and the court decides. Many courts let you ask for interim protection in the same filing, which is the part families miss.

Protecting the Estate While the Court Decides

G.L. c. 190B, § 3-611(a) expressly provides that the court may suspend the personal representative’s powers in any manner during the pendency of the removal proceeding — so the court can freeze all authority, or narrow it to only routine acts, while the case is heard. Separately, under G.L. c.

190B, § 3-607 an interested person may seek an order restraining the personal representative from performing any specified act or exercising any power in the course of administration, which is the tool commonly used to stop a sale, transfer, or account withdrawal quickly.

The court may also appoint a special personal representative (the Massachusetts equivalent of a special administrator) to preserve and protect estate assets in the interim, and may address bond and sureties. Under § 3-611(c), when removal is ordered the court must also direct by order the disposition of the assets remaining in the name of, or under the control of, the removed personal representative.

What Happens After Removal

Appointment of a replacement is governed by G.L. c. 190B, § 3-613, which routes the successor appointment through the ordinary Parts 3 and 4 appointment procedures (informal or formal). Priority is set by G.L. c.

190B, § 3-203: first, the person with priority determined by the probated will, including a person nominated by a power conferred in the will — so a named alternate or successor executor in the will goes first; then the surviving spouse who is a devisee; then other devisees; then the surviving spouse; then other heirs; and finally, if there is no known spouse or next of kin,

a public administrator appointed under G.L. c.

194. A person entitled under the later priority categories may nominate a qualified person to serve instead. Section 3-203 governs successor appointments but does not apply to selecting a special personal representative. Under § 3-613, unless the court orders otherwise the successor has the same powers and duties for continued administration that the removed personal representative would have had.

Note that a successor personal representative must file an inventory within 3 months of their own appointment, valued as of the date of the successor’s appointment (§ 3-706).

Repaying losses: Yes — a removed (or still-serving) personal representative can be held personally liable for losses. G.L. c. 190B, § 3-712 provides that if the exercise of power concerning the estate is improper, the personal representative is liable to interested persons for damage or loss resulting from breach of fiduciary duty to the same extent as a trustee of an express trust. G.L. c.

190B, § 3-703 sets the underlying standard of care and confirms the personal representative is under a duty to settle and distribute the estate as expeditiously and efficiently as is consistent with the best interests of the estate, and is liable to interested persons for damage or loss resulting from a breach.

Surcharge is typically pursued in the accounting proceeding or as a claim joined with the removal petition; removal itself does not automatically produce a money judgment. Many estates can pursue both, but whether a surcharge is awarded and in what amount is decided case by case by the judge — no outcome is guaranteed, and this is a point to review with a licensed Massachusetts probate attorney.

Other Massachusetts rules: Several Massachusetts-specific points matter. (1) MUPC transition — the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code, G.L. c. 190B, took effect March 31, 2012; pre-2012 estates may still be governed in part by prior law, so verify which regime applies. (2) Inventory deadline — G.L. c.

190B, § 3-706 requires the personal representative to prepare an inventory within 3 months after appointment, with fair market value as of the date of death and any encumbrances noted; a successor personal representative has 3 months from their own appointment and values assets as of the successor’s appointment date. The inventory must be filed with the court or mailed to all interested persons whose addresses are reasonably available.

Missing this 3-month deadline is a common “failure to perform any duty” ground under § 3-611(b). (3) Massachusetts does not require routine annual account filings in every estate the way some states do, so beneficiaries often have to affirmatively demand an account or petition for one — an unexplained refusal to account supports removal.

(4) The statute allows a removal petition “for cause at any time,” with no separate limitations period stated in § 3-611. (5) Notice runs through the § 1-401 citation procedure, which sets a return day; the citation is a separate 15 fee. (6) There is no separate surrogate’s court — everything goes to the county division of the Probate and Family Court.

(7) Under § 3-611(c) the removal decree must also direct what happens to assets still held or titled in the removed person’s name, which is why petitioners usually ask for turnover relief in the same petition.

What It Costs and How Long It Takes

The court filing fee to remove an executor in Massachusetts is small; the real cost is the hearing. If the Personal representative — since the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (MUPC) took effect March 31, 2012, Massachusetts uses the single term “personal representative” for what used to be called an executor (named in a will), administrator (no will), or administrator with the will annexed.

Older estates and everyday conversation still use “executor,” but every current Massachusetts court form and statute says personal representative. contests the motion, both sides usually retain counsel, and a contested removal can run several months and several thousand dollars in fees, which the court may or may not order the estate to pay.

Uncontested removals — a fiduciary who has stopped responding or has moved away — are faster and cheaper, and courts grant them routinely when the missed filings are on the record.

Two facts decide the economics. First, the estate’s size: a removal fight over a small estate can consume what is left, so beneficiaries of small estates often ask the court to compel the accounting and set deadlines instead of removing the fiduciary outright. Second, the evidence: a missing inventory is proved with a docket printout, while suspected self-dealing needs bank records and sometimes an appraisal.

The stronger the paper, the shorter the case. Ask the court clerk what the Personal representative — since the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (MUPC) took effect March 31, 2012, Massachusetts uses the single term “personal representative” for what used to be called an executor (named in a will), administrator (no will), or administrator with the will annexed.

Older estates and everyday conversation still use “executor,” but every current Massachusetts court form and statute says personal representative. has actually filed before deciding which path to take, and get the docket printout in writing — it is the exhibit every remove an executor in Massachusetts motion starts with.

What to Expect When You Remove an Executor in Massachusetts

A request to remove an executor in Massachusetts is a contested proceeding inside the probate case, not a separate lawsuit. The court will want the ground stated plainly, the documents that prove it, and a proposed replacement. Hearings are usually short; the decision turns on whether the executor breached a duty, not on whether the family gets along.

Two things surprise people. The first is that the court can act before the hearing — a bond, a freeze on the estate account, or a special administrator — if the estate is at risk. The second is that the estate keeps running while the motion to remove an executor in Massachusetts is pending: creditor deadlines, tax filings, and property upkeep do not pause.

Ask the court to address both in the same filing.

Quick Answers: Remove an Executor in Massachusetts

How long does it take to remove an executor in Massachusetts?

Uncontested removals — a fiduciary who stopped responding or never filed the inventory — can be granted within weeks. A contested motion to remove an executor in Massachusetts usually runs several months to a hearing.

Official Massachusetts Sources & Resources

• Massachusetts Probate Court: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/probate-and-family-court — see also the forms list at https://www.mass.gov/lists/probate-and-family-court-forms-for-wills-estates-and-trusts, the fee page at https://www.mass.gov/info-details/probate-and-family-court-filing-fees, the MPC 766 removal decree page at https://www.mass.gov/info-details/probate-and-family-court-decree-and-order-for-formal-removal-personal-representative-mpc-766, and the general legal-research page at https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-law-about-wills-and-estates
• Massachusetts Removal Statute: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section3-611
• Internal Revenue Service — Estate Tax: irs.gov
• Cornell Legal Information Institute: law.cornell.edu/wex

This Massachusetts guide was last verified against official sources in September 2026. Laws change — verify with your state court or a licensed attorney.

More Massachusetts Estate Guides

• Contest a Will in Massachusetts
• Massachusetts Probate Process
• Dying Without a Will in Massachusetts
• What to Do When an Executor Is Not Doing Their Job
• All State Guides

Disclaimer: This guide is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Estate, probate, and tax laws change and vary by state and county. Verify current rules and dollar figures with your state’s court, statute, or a licensed attorney or tax professional before acting. For urgent matters like an active probate or a tax deadline, consult a licensed professional in your state right away.