Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts

Re: probate

The answer really depends on whether the deceased passed away having made a will. By law, a person holding the will of a deceased has a duty to present it to the Probate and Family Court within 30 days following death.

Where the person passed away without having made a will, there is no similarly strict time limit. Theoretically, a petition to administer the estate of a deceased person can be brought years after death (even with a will, sometimes late is better than never).

For creditors of the estate, it is a different story. Creditors must either: (1) present their claims/debts to the executor/administrator of the estate within one year of death for payment; OR (2) if no estate has been probated, creditors may petition to probate the estate on their own initiative. If creditors do neither (1) or (2) above within one year after death, they are timed-barred from bringing a claim against the estate.

Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any further assistance.