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Massachusetts Probate Questionnaire

Tell us about the estate
and we’ll tell you the path.

These are the facts a Massachusetts probate filing turns on. Answer what you know and skip what you don’t — a half-filled form is still useful, and nobody has all of it at the start.

Confidential, and no obligation. What you write here goes straight to David and no one else, whether or not you ever hire us. Please don’t send Social Security numbers or account numbers through this form — we don’t need them yet, and there is a proper way to collect them once you are a client. Rather say it out loud? Call 978-957-6997.
Step 01 Who are you, in relation to the person who died? The court cares about this, and so does the order we do things in.
Step 02 The person who died Their legal name as it appears on the deed or the will, if those differ from what everyone called them.
Title work turns up old deeds under old names more often than you would think.
This decides which Probate and Family Court gets the filing — Middlesex or Essex.
Step 03 Is there a will? This is the single biggest fork in the road. The original document is what the court wants; a photocopy generally sends the estate down the formal track.
Does it name someone to serve as personal representative?
Step 04 Who survives them Minor children, an heir under a disability, or anyone who cannot be found will push the estate into formal probate, so it is worth being exact here.
Is there a surviving spouse?
Did they have children?
One per line is fine.
Is any child under 18?
Is any heir unable to handle their own affairs?
Can everyone who might inherit be reached?
Do you expect anyone to object?
Step 05 Real estate An estate with a house is the one that most often gets stuck. If there is a buyer already, tell us in the last step.
One per line.
How was it held?
What does the family want to do with it?
Step 06 What the estate holds Categories are enough at this stage. Please do not send account numbers — we will collect those properly once you are a client.
Check anything that applies
Roughly what is it all worth?
A rough bracket is genuinely fine. The bottom one can sometimes be handled as a voluntary administration, and the top one raises a Massachusetts estate tax question.
Step 07 Debts and obligations Creditors have one year from the date of death to bring a claim, so this shapes the timeline more than people expect.
Check anything you know about
Did they ever receive MassHealth benefits?
MassHealth can make a claim against an estate for care it paid for, so we need to know early.
Roughly how much is owed altogether?
Step 08 Where things stand
Has any of this happened yet?
Is anything pressing?
Last step Where to reach you
How would you rather be reached?

Everything you send here is treated as confidential, whether or not you become a client. Sending this form does not create an attorney–client relationship and does not commit you to hiring us. General information on this site about Massachusetts law is not legal advice and is no substitute for talking through your own circumstances with an attorney.