How to Make a Will in Massachusetts

The short answer

To make a will in Massachusetts, you must be at least 18 and of sound mind. The will must be in writing, signed by you (or by someone at your direction in your conscious presence), and signed by at least two witnesses who saw you sign or heard you acknowledge the signature or the will. A notary is not required for the will to be legally valid, but a notarized self proving affidavit can make probate, the court process that settles an estate, simpler. Massachusetts does not accept an unwitnessed handwritten will made in the state.

What are the requirements for a will in Massachusetts?

The rules sit in chapter 190B of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code. Here is how they fit together.

The testator is the person making the will. The law does not list a separate rule that witnesses must be adults, only that they be generally competent to act as a witness. Many people choose two adults who receive nothing under the will, for reasons explained below.

How to make a will in Massachusetts, step by step

1. Take stock of what you own and how it passes. Some property passes outside a will. Life insurance, retirement accounts with named beneficiaries and jointly owned property with survivorship rights generally go to the named person or co owner, not through the will.
2. Decide who receives what. Name the people or charities you want to inherit, and a backup for each in case someone dies before you.
3. Choose a personal representative. This is the person who settles the estate, often called an executor. Name a backup too.
4. Name a guardian for minor children, if you have them. Under §5-202, a parent can appoint a guardian "by will or other writing signed by the parent and attested by at least 2 witnesses."
5. Put it in writing. Typed, printed or handwritten all count as a writing.
6. Sign in front of two witnesses. You sign, or acknowledge your signature, and each witness signs.
7. Add a self proving affidavit, if wanted. You and your witnesses swear to the signing before a notary. This step is optional.
8. Store the original safely. The court generally needs the original signed will after death, so where it lives matters.

Does a will need to be notarized in Massachusetts?

No. A Massachusetts will is legally valid with your signature and two witnesses. Notarization comes in only through a self proving affidavit under §2-504.

In that affidavit, you declare that you signed the will willingly and as your free act, and the witnesses declare that they signed "in the presence and hearing of the testator" and that, to the best of their knowledge, you were 18 or older, "of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence." Everyone signs before "an officer authorized to administer oaths," which in practice usually means a notary public. The affidavit can be signed at the same time as the will or added later.

Why bother? Under §3-406, if a will is self proved, the signature and other execution requirements "shall be presumed" to have been met "without the testimony of any witness," unless there is proof of fraud or forgery. If a will is not self proved and its execution is contested, the testimony of at least one attesting witness is required when a witness is in the state and able to testify. For more on how this works, see What Is a Self Proving Affidavit?.

Can you sign or notarize a Massachusetts will online?

Not the will. Massachusetts now has a permanent remote online notarization law, but it carves wills out. Under chapter 222, §28(c), "a notary public shall not use communication technology to notarize a record related to the electoral process, or a will, codicil or document purporting to be a will or codicil."

Chapter 190B also has no provision for witnessing a will over video. As a result, a Massachusetts will and its self proving affidavit are signed on paper, with the witnesses and any notary physically present. Other documents, such as a power of attorney, may follow different rules. Our guide to online notarization explains how that works where your state allows.

Is a handwritten will valid in Massachusetts?

Only if it is signed and witnessed like any other will. A holographic will, meaning one written and signed in the maker's own hand with no witnesses, is not valid when made under Massachusetts law, because §2-502 requires two witness signatures and makes no exception for handwriting.

There is one narrow exception. Under §2-506, a written will is also valid if it was executed in line with the law of the place where it was signed, or where the person lived, had a home or was a national at the time of signing or at death. So an unwitnessed handwritten will validly made in a state that allows them can still be admitted in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts also has no general rule that excuses a missing formality. Section 2-503, which in the uniform code lets a court overlook signing mistakes, is marked "Reserved" in Massachusetts.

One handwritten piece does not need witnesses. Under §2-513, a will may refer to a separate signed list that leaves items of tangible personal property, other than money, if it describes the items and the recipients "with reasonable certainty." The list can be changed later without signing the will again.

Can a beneficiary witness a Massachusetts will?

Yes, but it can cost them their gift. Under §2-505, an interested witness does not invalidate the will. However, a gift "to a witness or a spouse of such witness shall be void" unless two other witnesses who are not similarly benefited also signed, or the witness shows the gift was not the product of fraud or undue influence. Two witnesses who inherit nothing avoid the problem entirely.

How do you change or revoke a Massachusetts will?

Under §2-507, a will is revoked in whole or in part by:

• A later will that revokes it expressly or by inconsistency. A new will that disposes of the whole estate is presumed to replace the old one.
• A revocatory act, which includes "burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying" the will, done with the intent to revoke, by you or by someone else in your conscious presence at your direction.

Life events can matter too. Under §2-804, a divorce or annulment generally revokes gifts to a former spouse and their nomination as personal representative, trustee or guardian, unless the will or a court order says otherwise. Section 2-508 says other changes of circumstance do not revoke a will on their own.

What happens to a Massachusetts will after death?

The will is probated in the Probate and Family Court for the county where the person lived at death, under §3-201. A person holding the will must deliver it within 30 days after learning of the death to someone able to probate it, or to the court, under §2-516.

The original matters. In informal probate, the court must find that "an original, duly executed and apparently unrevoked will is in the court's possession" under §3-303. When a petition is filed electronically, the court's eFiling guidance says the original must reach the court within five calendar days. If the original cannot be found, the petition must say so and describe the will's contents under §3-402, which means a formal proceeding.

You can also deposit a will with a court for safekeeping during your lifetime under §2-515. It is sealed and kept confidential.

Common reasons a Massachusetts will fails

• Fewer than two witnesses. Section 2-502 requires at least two, and there is no harmless error rule to fall back on.
• An unwitnessed handwritten will made in Massachusetts.
• The maker was under 18 or lacked sound mind when signing, under §2-501.
• A gift to a witness, or a witness's spouse, which is void under §2-505 unless an exception applies.
• Revocation, by a later will or by tearing or destroying it, under §2-507.
• Divorce, which generally cancels gifts to a former spouse under §2-804.
• A missing original, which moves the estate into formal probate and invites questions about whether the will was revoked.

If no valid will is admitted, Massachusetts intestacy rules decide who inherits. See What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Massachusetts?.

Massachusetts will signing checklist

• You are 18 or older and of sound mind
• The will is in writing and names beneficiaries, backups and a personal representative
• A guardian is named for any minor children
• Two witnesses are present who receive nothing under the will
• You sign, or acknowledge your signature, in front of them
• Both witnesses sign
• Optional: you and the witnesses sign a self proving affidavit before a notary
• Any separate list of personal items is signed and describes items and recipients clearly
• The original is stored where your personal representative can find it

People with a business, a blended family or an estate near the Massachusetts estate tax threshold commonly talk with an estate planning attorney about how these rules apply to them.

How Inhira fits

The Inhira Free Will is a real Massachusetts will built from attorney reviewed templates, which you print and sign with two witnesses as §2-502 requires. The Complete Will Plan adds a healthcare directive in the style of a Massachusetts health care proxy, a financial power of attorney, a HIPAA authorization and one notarization session, online where your state allows. Massachusetts wills themselves are signed and notarized in person. See what is available on the Massachusetts page.