✓ Verified September 2026
To contest a will in Massachusetts, you file in the probate court within a fixed window and prove one of a short list of legal grounds. This guide gives the Massachusetts answer in plain English, and it starts with the deadline, because that is the fact that ends more cases than any other. All facts are from Massachusetts law, verified as of September 2026.
In This Massachusetts Guide:
Contest a Will in Massachusetts: At a Glance
Here are the Massachusetts facts that decide whether you can contest a will in Massachusetts:
| Deadline to contest | Two tracks. (1) INFORMAL PROBATE — a proceeding to contest an informally probated will must be commenced within the LATER of 12 months from the date of the informal probate OR 3 years from the decedent’s death (MGL c.190B § 3-108(3)); § 3-108 also sets an outer limit of 3 years after death for commencing any probate, testacy, or appointment proceeding. (2) FORMAL PROBATE — the citation states a Return Date (commonly set roughly 2 to 3 months after the petition is filed) by which an objector must file a written Appearance; the objector must then file an Affidavit of Objections stating specific facts and grounds within 30 days after the Return Date (MGL c.190B § 1-401(e)). Missing either formal-probate date generally waives the objection. A decree already entered in a formal testacy proceeding can only be attacked by a petition to vacate under MGL c.190B § 3-412. |
| What starts the clock | Informal track — the clock runs from the informal allowance/probate of the will (12 months) and from the date of death (3 years), whichever gives the later date. Formal track — the clock runs from the Return Date printed on the citation issued after the Petition for Formal Probate is filed and served/published to heirs at law and devisees; the 30-day Affidavit of Objections period runs from that same Return Date. |
| Who can contest | Any “interested person.” MGL c.190B § 1-201(24) defines interested person 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 fiduciaries representing interested persons. The statute expressly states the meaning may vary and is determined according to the particular purpose of, and matter involved in, the proceeding — so beneficiaries under a prior will and creditors can qualify depending on the issue. |
| No-contest clause | YES — enforced, with NO probable-cause or good-faith exception. MGL c.190B § 2-517 provides that a provision in a will penalizing an interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate is enforceable. Massachusetts deliberately omitted the Uniform Probate Code’s “unenforceable if probable cause exists” language. Long-standing case law is to the same effect (Rudd v. Searles, 262 Mass. 490 (1928)). Because equity disfavors forfeiture, Massachusetts courts construe these clauses narrowly — for example, merely asking the court to construe a will, or serving as a witness in another person’s contest, has been held not to trigger forfeiture. |
| What the filing is called | There is no separate “will contest complaint.” A contestant files a written Appearance (Form MPC 505) in the pending probate case by the citation Return Date, followed by an Affidavit of Objections (Form MPC 505a) within 30 days, in the Probate and Family Court where the petition is pending (MGL c.190B § 1-401(e)). To move an informal probate into a contested posture, an interested person files a Petition for Formal Adjudication / Petition for Formal Probate of Will (Form MPC 160/MPC 963). To undo an already-entered formal decree, the filing is a petition to vacate under MGL c.190B § 3-412. |
| Court | The Massachusetts Probate and Family Court Department of the Trial Court, in the division (county) where the decedent was domiciled at death (MGL c.190B § 3-201). |
| Jury trial | NO. Massachusetts abolished the framing of jury issues in Probate and Family Court will contests effective January 1, 1987 (St. 1986, c. 462). Massachusetts will contests are tried to a judge as bench trials; the former MGL c.215 jury-issue practice no longer applies. |
| Typical cost | UNVERIFIED — no Massachusetts court, legislature, or state bar source publishes an official cost range for a contested will case. Costs vary widely with estate size, discovery, expert medical testimony, and whether the matter settles. You may be able to get a fee estimate from a licensed Massachusetts probate litigator; check with the Probate and Family Court or a licensed attorney. |
The Deadline to Contest a Will in Massachusetts
The window is short in some states and long in others, and it is measured from a specific event rather than from the day you learned about the will. That is why the first thing to find out is the date the will was admitted and whether you received formal notice. If the deadline has not run, everything else on this page is available to you.
If it has, the remaining options are narrow and usually involve proving you never got the notice the law required.
Grounds to Contest a Will in Massachusetts
Lack of testamentary capacity; undue influence; fraud; duress; mistake; improper execution (failure to meet MGL c.190B § 2-502 — signed by testator, witnessed by 2 competent witnesses); forgery; revocation (MGL c.190B § 2-507); lack of testamentary intent. These are the grounds enumerated as contestant-borne issues in MGL c.190B § 3-407.
Who has to prove what: Split, by preponderance of the evidence. Under MGL c.190B § 3-407, the proponent of the will has the burden of establishing prima facie proof of due execution; the contestant then carries the burden of establishing lack of testamentary intent or capacity, undue influence, fraud, duress, mistake, or revocation.
Each party bears the ultimate burden of persuasion on the matters for which it has the initial burden. A duly executed will (especially a self-proved will under MGL c.190B § 2-504) carries a presumption of testamentary capacity.
Massachusetts case law shifts the burden on undue influence to the beneficiary where a fiduciary or confidential relationship existed between the beneficiary and the testator and the beneficiary was involved in procuring the will.
Who Can Contest a Will in Massachusetts
Any “interested person.” MGL c.190B § 1-201(24) defines interested person 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 fiduciaries representing interested persons.
The statute expressly states the meaning may vary and is determined according to the particular purpose of, and matter involved in, the proceeding — so beneficiaries under a prior will and creditors can qualify depending on the issue. Being unhappy with the will is not standing; losing something because of it is.
Check the earlier will and the intestate rules for Massachusetts before filing, because they decide whether you are an interested person.
No-Contest Clauses in Massachusetts
YES — enforced, with NO probable-cause or good-faith exception. MGL c.190B § 2-517 provides that a provision in a will penalizing an interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate is enforceable. Massachusetts deliberately omitted the Uniform Probate Code’s “unenforceable if probable cause exists” language. Long-standing case law is to the same effect (Rudd v. Searles, 262 Mass. 490 (1928)).
Because equity disfavors forfeiture, Massachusetts courts construe these clauses narrowly — for example, merely asking the court to construe a will, or serving as a witness in another person’s contest, has been held not to trigger forfeiture.
The Steps to Contest a Will in Massachusetts
Step one is the deadline check above. Step two is evidence: the medical records around the signing date, the names of the witnesses, the drafting lawyer’s file, and the financial records that show who benefited.
Step three is the filing — There is no separate “will contest complaint.” A contestant files a written Appearance (Form MPC 505) in the pending probate case by the citation Return Date, followed by an Affidavit of Objections (Form MPC 505a) within 30 days, in the Probate and Family Court where the petition is pending (MGL c.190B § 1-401(e)).
To move an informal probate into a contested posture, an interested person files a Petition for Formal Adjudication / Petition for Formal Probate of Will (Form MPC 160/MPC 963). To undo an already-entered formal decree, the filing is a petition to vacate under MGL c.190B § 3-412.. Step four is discovery and, in most cases, a settlement conference; the small minority that reach trial are decided by the judge.
Settling Instead of Fighting
YES. MGL c.190B § 3-912 (private agreements among successors to decedent binding on personal representative) allows competent successors to agree in a written contract signed by all affected parties to alter the interests, shares, or amounts to which they are entitled under the will or under intestacy, subject to the rights of creditors and taxing authorities; the personal representative must abide by the agreement.
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MGL c.190B § 3-1101 and § 3-1102 govern court-approved compromises of controversies involving wills and estates, including where minors, incapacitated, unborn, or unascertained persons are interested. The Probate and Family Court also refers matters to mediation and other ADR under Trial Court Rule 8 (Uniform Rules on Dispute Resolution).
Other Massachusetts rules: (1) No ante-mortem/pre-death will validation — Massachusetts is not among the states permitting a testator to have a will judicially validated while alive; a will can only be challenged after death.
(2) The Affidavit of Objections is distinctive: MGL c.190B § 1-401(e) requires the objector to state specific facts and grounds, not general allegations, and § 1-401(f) allows the affidavit and the objector’s appearance to be struck on motion if it fails that requirement — this is the main screening device for weak contests.
(3) Self-proved wills — MGL c.190B § 2-504 lets a will be made self-proved at execution or later, and a signature on the self-proving affidavit counts as a signature on the will if needed to prove due execution; a self-proved will is presumptively duly executed, so a contestant attacking execution must overcome that. (4) No jury — bench trial only since 1987.
(5) The 12-month/3-year informal-probate contest window is the most-missed deadline, because informal probate can be allowed without a hearing and heirs may not realize a clock is running. (6) The Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code (MGL c.203E) governs trust challenges separately; the § 3-108 will-contest deadlines do not control trust contests.
Many families can resolve these matters without litigation, but check with the Probate and Family Court or a licensed Massachusetts attorney for your situation — nothing here is individualized legal advice or a prediction of any outcome.
The Evidence That Wins or Loses a Will Contest
Capacity cases turn on the weeks around the signing: the medical chart, prescriptions, a dementia diagnosis, and what the drafting lawyer and the witnesses saw that day. A will signed in a lawyer’s office with two disinterested witnesses and a self-proving affidavit is hard to attack; a will signed at a kitchen table with the main beneficiary present is not.
Undue influence cases turn on the relationship — who drove the parent to the appointment, who chose the lawyer, who was in the room, and whether the new will departed sharply from earlier ones and from what the parent said to other people.
Improper execution is the narrowest ground and the cleanest: Massachusetts sets exact witness and signature rules, and a will that misses them fails regardless of what the signer intended. Before you contest a will in Massachusetts, gather the prior wills, the medical releases, and the names of everyone at the signing.
Most of that evidence has to be requested formally once the case is filed, and the deadline does not wait for it.
What to Expect When You Contest a Will in Massachusetts
A will contest is a lawsuit about the document, not about fairness. When you contest a will in Massachusetts, the court asks whether the person who signed it had capacity, signed it freely, and signed it correctly. It does not ask whether the split was reasonable. That is why the strongest cases rest on medical records and witness accounts from the weeks around the signing.
Most families who contest a will in Massachusetts settle. Courts encourage it, many states have family settlement rules that let the heirs agree to a different division, and a settlement avoids the cost and delay of trial. The deadline, the grounds, and the no-contest clause above are the three facts that set your bargaining position before any of that begins.
You don’t have to do this alone
If you are settling a loved one’s estate in Massachusetts, your state’s probate court self-help center and free legal-aid offices can walk you through the process at no cost. For an active probate or a deadline, talk to a licensed probate attorney in your state.
Key Takeaways: Contest a Will in Massachusetts
- The deadline is everything: the window to contest a will in Massachusetts closes on a fixed schedule, and the court cannot reopen it for a late but valid claim.
- Grounds are specific: you contest a will in Massachusetts on capacity, undue influence, fraud, duress, or bad execution, never on unfairness alone.
- Standing first: only an interested person can contest a will in Massachusetts; check whether you inherit under the prior will or the intestate rules.
- Read the no-contest clause: whether the state enforces it decides how much risk it takes to contest a will in Massachusetts.
- Evidence is medical and financial: records, witnesses to the signing, and the drafting lawyer’s file decide most cases when you contest a will in Massachusetts.
- Settlement is common: most families who contest a will in Massachusetts settle before trial, often through the state’s family settlement rules.
- Find the admission date: the day the will was admitted is the day the clock to contest a will in Massachusetts usually starts.
- Prior wills matter twice: they give you standing to contest a will in Massachusetts and show how far the last will departed from the pattern.
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Official Massachusetts Sources & Resources
- Massachusetts Probate Court: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/probate-and-family-court
- Massachusetts Will Contest Statute: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/ArticleIII/Section3-108
- 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.
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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.