Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts

Re: estate liens

I assume you are asking about a Medicaid lien. When the executor or administrator submitted your mother's estate to probate, s/he was required at that time to notify Commonwealth.

I do not know of any statute of limitations on the Commonwealth's ability to seek a lien, but would be happy to look into the issue for you.

Re: estate liens

If a creditor put a lien on your mother's estate, it would have been filed in probate court. If you probated the estate, you would have (should have) received a notice of the claim. You can check the probate file at the probate court.

Alternatively, a creditor may have placed a lien on your mother's property, in which case the debt must be addressed at the time the property is sold or transferred. You can check at the registry of deeds(which has a website) to see if there is a lien on the property.

I note that you live in Lynn. If your mother lived there and/or owned property there as well, the probate court you need is the Essex County Probate Court in Salem and the Essex County Registry of Deeds, also in Salem. The Essex Registry's website is salemdeeds.com. If she did not live in Lynn, you should check the proabte court and registry of deeds in the county where she lived.

Please let me know if I can help you in any way. Good luck -