Massachusetts Will and Trust Laws: Witnesses, No-Contest (2026)

In Massachusetts, an individual 18 or older who is of sound mind may make a will (G.L. c. 190B, 2-501). The will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or in the testator's name by another individual in the testator's conscious presence and at the testator's direction), and signed by at least two individuals, each of whom witnessed the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will (G.L. c. 190B, 2-502(a)); no notary is required for validity. Living trusts are governed by the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code, Chapter 203E of the General Laws, enacted by St. 2012, c. 140.

Three Massachusetts rules are worth knowing up front (other states are collected in the wills and trusts laws by state overview): Chapter 190B has no holographic-will section and its section 2-503 reads "Reserved," a gift to a witness can be void, and a no-contest clause in a will is enforceable.

Information last verified on 2026-10-20. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Massachusetts statutes on making, signing, changing and revoking wills (G.L. c. 190B, Article II), the surviving spouse's statutory share (G.L. c. 191, section 15), and revocable living trusts (G.L. c. 203E, the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code). It does not cover what happens when someone dies without a will or how probate works (see Massachusetts probate), small-estate procedures (see the Massachusetts small estate affidavit page), powers of attorney (see Massachusetts power of attorney laws), or taxes. A living will is a health-care directive, not a will; see the Massachusetts advance directive tool.

What makes a will valid in Massachusetts?

Section 2-501 sets capacity: "An individual 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will."

Section 2-502 sets the form:

"(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) and in sections 2-506 and 2-513, a will shall be: (1) in writing; (2) signed by the testator or in the testator's name by some other individual in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction; and (3) signed by at least 2 individuals, each of whom witnessed either the signing of the will as described in paragraph (2) or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or acknowledgment of the will. (b) Intent that the document constitute the testator's will can be established by extrinsic evidence." (G.L. c. 190B, 2-502)

Three points follow from the text:

• Two witnesses. At least two individuals must sign the will.
• What the witnesses watch. Each must have witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will.
• No notary or declaration. Section 2-502 contains no notary requirement and no requirement that the testator publish or declare the document as a will.

Interested witnesses: a gift to a witness can be void

Section 2-505(b) provides:

"The signing of a will by an interested witness shall not invalidate the will or any provision of it except that a devise to a witness or a spouse of such witness shall be void unless there are 2 other subscribing witnesses to the will who are not similarly benefited thereunder or the interested witness establishes that the bequest was not inserted, and the will was not signed, as a result of fraud or undue influence by the witness." (G.L. c. 190B, 2-505(b))

The will stands, but the witness's own gift (or the gift to the witness's spouse) is void unless one of the two conditions is met.

Wills signed in another state or country

Under 2-506, "A written will is valid if executed in compliance with section 2-502 or if its execution complies with the law at the time of execution of the place where the will is executed, or of the law of the place where at the time of execution or at the time of death the testator is domiciled, has a place of abode, or is a national."

Does a Massachusetts will need to be notarized? The self-proved will

A notary is not part of the 2-502 signing rule. Notarization comes in through section 2-504(a), under which a will "may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved, by acknowledgment thereof by the testator and affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state in which execution occurs and evidenced by the officer's certificate, under official seal, in substantially the following form." Under 2-504(b), an attested will may also be made self-proved "at any time after its execution" by the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths and evidenced by the officer's certificate attached or annexed to the will. The certificate forms are set out in section 2-504 itself; this page does not reproduce them.

How a self-proved will is used when the will is offered for probate is covered on the Massachusetts probate page.

Are handwritten (holographic) wills valid in Massachusetts?

Not as a separate category. Section 2-502(a) requires the signatures of at least two individuals who witnessed the signing or acknowledgment, and its exceptions are subsection (b) and sections 2-506 and 2-513. Part 5 of Article II, which runs from section 2-501 to section 2-517, contains no holographic-will section, and section 2-503 reads only "Reserved." A will written in the testator's own hand is valid if it meets 2-502(a), including the two witnesses.

Under the choice-of-law rule in 2-506, a written will that does not meet 2-502 can still be valid if its execution complied with the law of the place where it was executed, or of the place where the testator was domiciled, had a place of abode or was a national, at the time of execution or of death.

Are oral (nuncupative) wills valid in Massachusetts?

No. Section 2-502(a)(1) requires a will to be "in writing," and sections 2-501 through 2-517 of Chapter 190B contain no provision for an oral will.

Electronic wills and remote witnessing

Chapter 190B contains no electronic-will or remote-witnessing section. Section 2-502(a) requires a will "in writing" and signed by at least two individuals, each of whom "witnessed" the signing or the testator's acknowledgment, and its text includes no electronic-presence language.

Temporary COVID-19 laws, now repealed, allowed video participation for a time. Under St. 2020, c. 71 (approved April 23, 2020), a document executed under that act was properly executed "for all legal purposes," including "for filing as a valid will," and the signature of a witness who took part in the video conference and whose signature was notarized under the act was "valid as if the witness had been present to sign in person." For a will, only a notary who was an attorney licensed in Massachusetts, or a paralegal under the direct supervision of such an attorney, could act. St. 2021, c. 20, s. 7 set the repeal of the 2020 act for December 15, 2021. St. 2022, c. 22, s. 12 (approved February 12, 2022) enacted the same witness and valid-will provisions again, and St. 2022, c. 107, s. 5 moved the repeal of that section to March 31, 2023.

Since January 1, 2024, G.L. c. 222, s. 28 has allowed remote notarization in general, but section 28(c) provides: "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."

Is there a harmless-error rule?

No statutory one. Section 2-503 of Chapter 190B reads "Reserved." The only related text is 2-502(b): "Intent that the document constitute the testator's will can be established by extrinsic evidence." That provision addresses whether a document was meant to be a will; it does not excuse a missing witness signature.

Lists of personal items

Under 2-513, a will "may refer to a written statement or list to dispose of items of tangible personal property not otherwise specifically disposed of by the will, other than money." The writing "shall be signed by the testator and shall describe the items and the devisees with reasonable certainty." It may be prepared before or after the will and altered later.

Changing or revoking a Massachusetts will

Methods of revocation

Under 2-507(a), a will or any part of it is revoked:

1. "by executing a subsequent will that revokes the previous will or part expressly or by inconsistency"; or
2. "by performing a revocatory act on the will, if the testator performed the act with the intent and for the purpose of revoking the will or part or if another individual performed the act in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction."

A revocatory act "includes burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying the will or any part of it."

Reviving an earlier will

Under 2-509(a), if a later will that wholly revoked an earlier one is itself revoked by a revocatory act, "the previous will remains revoked unless it is revived," and it is revived "if it is evident from the circumstances of the revocation of the subsequent will or from the testator's contemporary or subsequent declarations that the testator intended the previous will to take effect as executed." Section 2-509(b) sets the reverse presumption where the later will only partly revoked the earlier one.

Marriage, children and other life changes

Under 2-508, "Except as provided in sections 2-301, 2-803 and 2-804, a change of circumstances shall not revoke a will or any part of it." A later marriage or a later child does not revoke the will; sections 2-301 and 2-302 (below) give a later spouse or an omitted child a share instead.

Divorce

Section 2-804(b) provides that, "Except as provided by the express terms of a governing instrument, a court order, or a contract relating to the division of the marital estate made between the divorced individuals before or after the marriage, divorce, or annulment," a divorce or annulment:

• revokes any revocable disposition or appointment of property to the former spouse "in a governing instrument," and any disposition or appointment created by law or in a governing instrument to a relative of the former spouse;
• revokes any revocable provision conferring a power of appointment on the former spouse or a relative of the former spouse;
• revokes any revocable nomination of the former spouse or a relative of the former spouse "to serve in any fiduciary or representative capacity, including a personal representative, executor, trustee, conservator, agent, or guardian"; and
• severs joint tenancies with right of survivorship held by the former spouses at the time of the divorce, "transforming the interests of the former spouses into tenancies in common."

The section reaches revocable provisions in any "governing instrument" the divorced individual executed before the divorce or annulment (2-804(a)(4)), not only in a will. Under G.L. c. 190B, 1-201(19), a governing instrument includes a deed, will, trust, insurance or annuity policy, an account with a POD designation, a security registered in beneficiary form (TOD), and a "pension, profit-sharing, retirement, or similar benefit plan." A payor or other third party that pays a designated beneficiary in good faith reliance on the instrument, before receiving written notice of the divorce, annulment or remarriage, is not liable for that payment (2-804(g)(1)). Under 2-804(e), "Provisions revoked solely by this section are revived by the divorced individual's remarriage to the former spouse or by a nullification of the divorce or annulment."

Where a state statute of this kind is applied to a spouse's beneficiary designation, federal law can override it: for employer plans governed by ERISA, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 532 U.S. 141 (2001), that federal law pre-empts a state statute revoking a spouse's beneficiary designation on divorce as applied to those plans (see the wills and trusts hub).

Slaying

Under 2-803(b), "An individual who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent forfeits all benefits under this article with respect to the decedent's estate, including an intestate share, an elective share, an omitted spouse's or child's share, exempt property, and a family allowance," and under 2-803(c) the killing revokes any revocable disposition to the killer in a governing instrument.

Limits on what a Massachusetts will can do

Spouse's statutory share (G.L. c. 191, section 15). The surviving spouse's right to take against the will is in Chapter 191, not in Chapter 190B. Under section 15, the surviving spouse, "except as provided in section thirty-six of chapter two hundred and nine, within six months after the probate of the will of such deceased, may file in the registry of probate a writing signed by him or by her, waiving any provisions that may have been made in it for him or for her, or claiming such portion of the estate of the deceased as he or she is given the right to claim under this section." The exception in G.L. c. 209, s. 36 applies where a probate court has entered a judgment that the testator was deserted by the spouse or was living apart from the spouse for justifiable cause; that spouse is not entitled under section 15 to waive the will and claim a share. If, after probate, legal proceedings question the will's validity or effect, the probate court may, on a petition within the six months, extend the time for the waiver and claim until six months after those proceedings end. The amounts depend on who else survives:

• If the deceased left issue: one third of the personal property and one third of the real property.
• If the deceased left kindred but no issue: $25,000 plus one half of the remaining personal and one half of the remaining real property.
• In either of those cases, if the spouse would take more than $25,000 in value, the spouse receives, "in addition to that amount, only the income during his or her life of the excess," with the personal property held in trust and the real property vested in the spouse for life.
• If the deceased left no issue or kindred: $25,000 plus one half of the remaining personal and one half of the remaining real property "absolutely."

Spouse married after the will. Under 2-301(a), a surviving spouse who married the testator after the will was signed is entitled to no less than an intestate share of the portion of the estate not devised to the testator's children born before the marriage who are not also children of the surviving spouse (or to their descendants), unless the will was made in contemplation of the marriage, the will says it is to be effective notwithstanding a later marriage, or the testator provided for the spouse by a transfer outside the will and the intent that it replace a testamentary provision is shown as the section requires.

Child born or adopted after the will. Under 2-302(a), a child born or adopted after the will who is not provided for receives a share measured by the rules in that section, except as provided in 2-302(b).

No-contest clauses. Massachusetts enforces them. Section 2-517 provides: "A provision in a will purporting to penalize an interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate is enforceable." The section contains no probable-cause exception.

The intestate shares these sections refer to are explained on the Massachusetts probate page.

Keeping and delivering the original will

Under 2-515, a will "may be deposited by the testator or the testator's agent with any court for safekeeping, under rules of the court," and "shall be sealed and kept confidential." During the testator's lifetime, a deposited will is delivered only to the testator or to a person the testator authorized in a signed writing.

After the testator dies, 2-516 requires a person with custody of the will to "deliver it within thirty days after notice of the death to a person able to secure its probate and if none is known, to an appropriate court." A person who willfully fails to deliver a will "is liable to any person aggrieved for any damages that may be sustained by the failure," and refusing after a court order is punishable as contempt.

Revocable living trusts in Massachusetts

The trust code

Chapter 203E "shall be known and may be cited as the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code" (203E, 101), and it "applies to express trusts, charitable or non-charitable, of a donative nature" and trusts created under a judgment or decree requiring administration as an express trust (203E, 102). It was enacted by St. 2012, c. 140, approved July 8, 2012. Under section 66 of that act, except as otherwise provided, the act applies "to all trusts created before, on or after the effective date of this act."

Creating a trust

Under 203E, 402(a), "A trust shall be created only if: (1) the settlor has capacity to create a trust; (2) the settlor indicates an intention to create the trust; (3) the trust has a definite beneficiary" (or is a charitable trust, a trust for the care of an animal, or a trust for a non-charitable purpose); "(4) the trustee has duties to perform; and (5) the same person is not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary."

Chapter 203E sets no witness or notary requirement for a revocable trust. Section 407 provides: "Except as required by statute, a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument. The creation of an oral trust and its terms shall be established by clear and convincing evidence." One such statute is G.L. c. 203, s. 1: a trust concerning land, other than one arising or resulting by implication of law, must be created or declared "by a written instrument signed by the party creating or declaring the trust or by his attorney."

Revocable by default, with a date limit

Section 602(a) states: "Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that the trust is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend the trust." Section 64 of St. 2012, c. 140 limits that default: "Subsection (a) of section 602 of chapter 203E of the General Laws shall not apply to trust instruments executed before the effective date of this act."

How to revoke or amend

Under 203E, 602(c), the settlor may revoke or amend a revocable trust "(1) by complying with a method provided in the terms of the trust; or (2) if the terms of the trust do not provide a method, by any method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of the settlor's intent."

Related rules in the same section: where more than one settlor created or funded the trust, each may revoke or amend as to the portion attributable to that settlor's contribution (community property follows its own rule), and the trustee must promptly notify the other settlors (602(b)); an agent under a power of attorney may act "only to the extent expressly authorized by the terms of the trust and the power" (602(e)); and a trustee who does not know of a revocation or amendment is not liable for actions taken on the assumption that the trust had not been amended or revoked (602(f)).

Duties while the settlor is alive

Under 203E, 603(a), "While a trust is revocable and the settlor has capacity to revoke the trust, rights of the beneficiaries shall be subject to the control of the settlor and the duties of the trustee shall be owed exclusively to the settlor."

Will rules of construction apply

Under 203E, 112, the rules of construction that apply to wills "shall also apply, as appropriate, to the interpretation of the terms of a revocable trust and the disposition of the trust property." For that section, a revocable trust means one that is revocable by the settlor until death, was "created or amended by the settlor after the effective date of this chapter," and was intended to dispose of the settlor's property at death.

Creditors

Under 203E, 505(a)(1), "During the lifetime of the settlor, the property of a revocable trust shall be subject to claims of the settlor's creditors." After the settlor's death, under 505(a)(3), and subject to the settlor's right to direct the source from which liabilities will be paid, the property of a trust that was revocable at death is subject to the settlor's creditors' claims, funeral and disposal expenses, and statutory allowances to a surviving spouse and children, to the extent the settlor's probate estate is inadequate to satisfy them.

Certification of trust

Under 203E, 1013(a), "Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary, the trustee may furnish to the person a certification of trust" containing listed information, including that the trust exists and the date it was executed, the settlor's identity, the currently acting trustee, the trustee's powers, and whether the trust is revocable. Section 1013(c) requires the certification to state that the trust has not been revoked, modified or amended in a way that would make its representations incorrect.

After the settlor dies: notice and the contest deadline

Under 203E, 813(b), "Within 30 days after acceptance of the trust or the trust becomes irrevocable, whichever is later, the trustee shall inform, in writing, the qualified beneficiaries of the trustee's name and address," delivered or sent by ordinary first class mail.

Section 604(a) sets a short contest deadline:

"A person may commence a judicial proceeding to contest the validity of a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death within the earlier of: (1) 1 year after the settlor's death; or (2) 60 days after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice informing the person of the trust's existence, the trustee's name and address and the time allowed for commencing a proceeding." (G.L. c. 203E, 604(a))

Pour-over wills

Massachusetts' testamentary-additions section is 2-511 of Chapter 190B. A will may validly devise property to the trustee of a trust established during the testator's lifetime, by the testator or someone else, or at the testator's death if the trust is identified in the will and its terms are in a written instrument other than a will, "regardless of the existence, size, or character of the corpus of the trust." Under 2-511(a), "The devise is not invalid because the trust is amendable or revocable, or because the trust was amended after the execution of the will or the testator's death."

Unless the will provides otherwise, the property becomes part of the receiving trust rather than a separate testamentary trust (2-511(b)), and "a revocation or termination of the trust before the testator's death causes the devise to lapse" (2-511(c)).

Massachusetts wills and trusts at a glance

Making a will in practice

The site's free Massachusetts will-maker tool can help draft a basic will. Whatever produces the document, signing must follow section 2-502, a witness who takes under the will risks the gift under 2-505(b), and the self-proving step in 2-504 is done before an officer authorized to administer oaths. Complex estates, blended families, business interests or tax questions are reasons to consult a lawyer licensed in Massachusetts. The tool is not legal advice.

Related pages

• Wills and trusts laws by state
• Massachusetts probate
• Massachusetts small estate affidavit
• Massachusetts power of attorney laws

This article provides general legal information about Massachusetts law on wills and revocable trusts as of 2026-10-20. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Massachusetts or the Probate and Family Court in your county.

Last updated: 2026-10-20.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many witnesses does a will need in Massachusetts?

At least two individuals, each of whom witnessed the testator's signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or the will, must sign it (G.L. c. 190B, 2-502(a)).

Is a handwritten will valid in Massachusetts?

Only if it meets the same rule as any other will: in writing, signed by the testator and signed by at least two witnesses (2-502(a)), unless its execution complied with the law of a place listed in the choice-of-law rule in 2-506. Chapter 190B has no holographic-will section, and 2-503 reads Reserved.

Does a will have to be notarized in Massachusetts?

No. Section 2-502 does not require a notary. A notary or other officer authorized to administer oaths is used to make a will self-proved, at signing under 2-504(a) or later under 2-504(b).

Can a beneficiary witness a will in Massachusetts?

The will stays valid, but under 2-505(b) a devise to the witness or the witness's spouse is void unless two other subscribing witnesses are not similarly benefited, or the witness establishes that the gift was not inserted, and the will was not signed, because of the witness's fraud or undue influence.

Are oral wills valid in Massachusetts?

No. Section 2-502(a)(1) requires a will to be in writing, and sections 2-501 through 2-517 of Chapter 190B contain no provision for an oral will.

Can I make an electronic will in Massachusetts?

Chapter 190B has no electronic-will or remote-witnessing section, and 2-502(a) requires a will in writing signed by at least two individuals who witnessed the signing or acknowledgment. Temporary COVID-19 laws that allowed video participation were repealed (the last on March 31, 2023), and since January 1, 2024 G.L. c. 222, s. 28(c) bars a notary from using communication technology to notarize a will or codicil.

Does divorce revoke a will in Massachusetts?

Divorce or annulment revokes revocable provisions in favor of the former spouse and the former spouse's relatives, unless the instrument, a court order or a property-division contract provides otherwise (G.L. c. 190B, 2-804(b)). The same section reaches other governing instruments and revives the provisions on remarriage; see the divorce section above.

Are no-contest clauses enforceable in Massachusetts?

Yes. Under G.L. c. 190B, 2-517, a provision in a will penalizing an interested person for contesting the will or starting other proceedings relating to the estate is enforceable.

Is a living trust revocable in Massachusetts?

Yes, unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable (G.L. c. 203E, 602(a)). That default does not apply to trust instruments executed before the effective date of St. 2012, c. 140, an emergency act approved July 8, 2012 (section 64).

How long do you have to contest a revocable trust in Massachusetts?

Under G.L. c. 203E, 604(a), within the earlier of one year after the settlor's death or 60 days after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and the notice that section describes.

Can a spouse be left out of a will in Massachusetts?

A surviving spouse may file a waiver and claim a statutory share within six months after probate of the will, unless a probate court judgment under G.L. c. 209, s. 36 (desertion or living apart for justifiable cause) bars the claim; the court may extend the six months if the will is contested (G.L. c. 191, s. 15; see the limits section): one third if the deceased left issue, otherwise $25,000 plus one half. Where there is issue or kindred, the spouse takes only life income on any excess over $25,000.