How much does probate cost in Massachusetts?

The short answer

Massachusetts does not set probate fees by statute. Costs depend on the attorney’s billing arrangement, the type of administration, and the size and complexity of the estate. Here’s what to expect, and the ways many families avoid full probate entirely.

Attorney fees

Not statutory. Massachusetts has no percentage fee schedule.

Executor / personal representative fees

Not statutory. Under M.G.L. c. 190B, §3-719, the personal representative is entitled to 'reasonable compensation' for services rendered — there is no California-style percentage commission. The Probate and Family Court can review compensation for reasonableness if an interested person objects.

What the fee is based on

Both attorney and personal-representative compensation are measured by the 'reasonable compensation' standard, not a fixed share of estate value. Because there's no statutory percentage, total cost tracks the work actually performed and the attorney's hourly rate rather than the gross estate.

Court filing fees

Massachusetts sets no probate filing fee by statute; the fee is set by the Probate and Family Court's own schedule, which we have not read at source, so no figure is stated here. Certified copies, citation publication, and a surety bond where one is required are charged separately, and no figure is stated for those either.

Appraisal / probate referee

How long probate takes in Massachusetts

We found no published source for how long probate takes in Massachusetts as of September 2026. No Massachusetts court publishes case-duration data, and the ranges that circulate come from law firms and from sites paid to refer customers to them, so none is cited here. The statutory floor is the creditor period: A personal representative is not held to answer an action by a creditor of the deceased unless the action is COMMENCED within one year after the date of death and, before that year expires, one of three things has happened: the process has been served by delivery in hand on the personal representative, service has been accepted by them, or a notice stating the name of the estate, the creditor's name and address, the amount of the claim and the court in which the action was brought has been filed with the register (M.G.L. c. 190B, §3-803(a)). Massachusetts runs no notice to creditors — §3-801, the section the Uniform Probate Code uses for that, reads "Reserved" — so nothing the personal representative does moves the date. A trustee of a trust whose assets are reachable by the decedent's creditors is held to the same period and manner (§3-803(b)), and a claim barred by the statute of the decedent's domicile before the Massachusetts limitation runs is barred here too (§3-803(c)).

Creditor claim period

A personal representative is not held to answer an action by a creditor of the deceased unless the action is COMMENCED within one year after the date of death and, before that year expires, one of three things has happened: the process has been served by delivery in hand on the personal representative, service has been accepted by them, or a notice stating the name of the estate, the creditor's name and address, the amount of the claim and the court in which the action was brought has been filed with the register (M.G.L. c. 190B, §3-803(a)). Massachusetts runs no notice to creditors — §3-801, the section the Uniform Probate Code uses for that, reads "Reserved" — so nothing the personal representative does moves the date. A trustee of a trust whose assets are reachable by the decedent's creditors is held to the same period and manner (§3-803(b)), and a claim barred by the statute of the decedent's domicile before the Massachusetts limitation runs is barred here too (§3-803(c)). In practice, this window is often the real floor on how quickly an estate can close, because the personal representative usually waits it out before making final distributions.

How to skip full probate (or shrink the bill)

• Small-estate procedure. Voluntary administration is available when the decedent's total personal property is $25,000 or less, excluding the value of one motor vehicle, and at least 30 days have passed since death, under M.G.L. c. 190B, §3-1201. It does not cover real estate.
• Transfer-on-death deed. Massachusetts does NOT have a transfer-on-death (beneficiary) deed for real estate. Unlike roughly 30 other states, Massachusetts does not recognize TOD deeds, so owners who want to pass real estate outside probate use a revocable living trust or joint ownership with right of survivorship. TOD/POD designations remain available for bank and brokerage accounts, just not for real estate deeds.
• A funded living trust. Assets in a properly funded revocable living trust skip probate entirely. The successor trustee distributes them privately, usually in a month or two.
• Beneficiary designations and joint ownership. Life insurance, retirement accounts, payable-on-death (POD) accounts, and jointly held property pass directly to the named person and never enter probate.
• Family member as executor. When a relative serves as executor, they can often waive the commission — meaningfully cutting the total bill.

Whether representation is required in Massachusetts

Massachusetts does not require an estate to be represented by counsel in every proceeding; the court’s self-help materials set out where a personal representative may file without an attorney. Full probate carries formal filing requirements and statutory deadlines, and estates qualifying for a small-estate or summary procedure follow a shorter track with lower filing costs. Legal document preparers operate in some states at a flat fee, subject to state rules on unauthorised practice.

What the record shows

Probate cost in Massachusetts is the sum of separately-set components: statutory or court-approved attorney fees, executor commissions, court filing fees, and appraisal costs. Each is documented above with its citation.

Assets that pass outside probate — by beneficiary designation, joint ownership with survivorship, transfer-on-death instrument, or a funded living trust — are not part of the estate these fees are calculated on. Massachusetts’s small-estate threshold, above, determines which estates can use the simplified procedure.

Frequently asked questions about probate cost in Massachusetts

How much does probate cost in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts does not set probate fees by statute. M.G.L. c. 190B, §3-719 entitles the personal representative to reasonable compensation for services, with no percentage formula; the section says nothing about the attorney's compensation, and no attorney-fee schedule is stated here. We found no independent published source for what probate costs in total in Massachusetts as of September 2026, and none for the Probate and Family Court filing fee, so neither is stated. Separately, the state estate tax under M.G.L. c. 65C §2A(g) imposes no tax where the federal taxable estate is not more than $2,000,000, and §2A(f) caps the credit at $99,600; both subsections apply to decedents dying on or after 1 January 2023 (2023, c. 50, §48) and neither carries an inflation-adjustment clause.

What is the small-estate limit in Massachusetts?

Voluntary administration is available when the decedent's total personal property is $25,000 or less, excluding the value of one motor vehicle, and at least 30 days have passed since death, under M.G.L. c. 190B, §3-1201. It does not cover real estate.

Who pays the probate costs in Massachusetts?

The estate does. Attorney fees, the executor’s commission, court filing fees, and any appraisal costs are all paid out of the estate’s assets before anything is distributed to the beneficiaries — so in practice the heirs bear the cost through a smaller inheritance rather than paying out of pocket.

Can you avoid probate costs in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts has not adopted a transfer-on-death deed for real estate, so real property held in the decedent's sole name is probate property unless it is titled into a trust or held in a form that carries a right of survivorship. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 65C §2A(g) provides that the estates of decedents dying on or after 1 January 2023 "shall not be required to pay any tax under subsections (a) and (b) if the value of the federal taxable estate is not more than $2,000,000", and §2A(f) allows a credit against that tax equal to the amount of the tax but "not exceed[ing] $99,600". Both subsections were added for decedents dying on or after 1 January 2023 by 2023, c. 50, §48. §2A contains no provision carrying over a deceased spouse’s unused exclusion, unlike the express deceased-spousal-unused-exclusion clause some states include.

How long does probate take in Massachusetts?

We found no published source for how long probate takes in Massachusetts as of September 2026. No Massachusetts court publishes case-duration data, and the ranges that circulate come from law firms and from sites paid to refer customers to them, so none is cited here. The statutory floor is the creditor period: A personal representative is not held to answer an action by a creditor of the deceased unless the action is COMMENCED within one year after the date of death and, before that year expires, one of three things has happened: the process has been served by delivery in hand on the personal representative, service has been accepted by them, or a notice stating the name of the estate, the creditor's name and address, the amount of the claim and the court in which the action was brought has been filed with the register (M.G.L. c. 190B, §3-803(a)). Massachusetts runs no notice to creditors — §3-801, the section the Uniform Probate Code uses for that, reads "Reserved" — so nothing the personal representative does moves the date. A trustee of a trust whose assets are reachable by the decedent's creditors is held to the same period and manner (§3-803(b)), and a claim barred by the statute of the decedent's domicile before the Massachusetts limitation runs is barred here too (§3-803(c)). The deadlines that run alongside it: How Long Does Probate Take in Massachusetts?.

Related reading

• What Is Probate and How Does It Work? — the full plain-English explanation of how probate works in the US.

• How to Avoid Probate in Massachusetts — the state-specific avoidance playbook.

• Executor Deadlines in Massachusetts — the statutory dates the executor works to, quoted from Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, §3-803(a).

• How Long Does Probate Take in Massachusetts? — the companion timeline guide for Massachusetts.

• Will vs. Trust: How They Differ — the documented differences between the two instruments.

• Estate Planning Checklist: Everything in One Place — the documents and decisions that determine what passes through probate.

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This page explains Massachusetts probate costs in general terms as of 2026. It is not legal advice, and fee schedules, thresholds, and court costs change and depend on your specific situation. Confirm current figures with the Massachusetts courts or a licensed Massachusetts attorney. Sources: M.G.L. c. 190B, §3-719 (reasonable compensation), M.G.L. c. 190B, §3-803 (one-year creditor limitation), M.G.L. c. 190B, §3-1201 (voluntary administration), M.G.L. c. 203E (Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code), M.G.L. c. 65C (Massachusetts estate tax).