What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Massachusetts?

How intestacy works in Massachusetts

When someone dies in Massachusetts without a valid will, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, §2-101 et seq. decides who inherits. The statute orders potential heirs by their relationship to the deceased — spouse and children first, then parents, then more distant relatives — and specifies exactly what share each one receives.

Massachusetts is a common-law (separate property) state, so there is no community-property split; the shares above apply to the whole intestate estate.

What happens when there’s a surviving spouse only (no children, no parents)

If there are no surviving descendants and no surviving parent, the spouse inherits the entire intestate estate.

What happens when there’s a surviving spouse and children

This is the most common situation and where Massachusetts’s rules get specific:

If all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and the spouse has no other descendants, the spouse takes the entire estate. In a blended family (the decedent has a child who is not the spouse's, or the spouse has a child who is not the decedent's), the spouse takes the first $100,000 plus one-half of the balance, and the descendants take the rest per capita at each generation.

For families where everyone is from the same marriage, the spouse generally gets a meaningful share. For blended families — where one or more children are from a prior relationship — many states change the math substantially. If your situation might fit that, the section above is exactly the rule that applies.

What happens when there’s a surviving spouse and parents (no children)

If there are no descendants but a parent survives, the spouse takes the first $200,000 plus three-fourths of the balance of the intestate estate; the surviving parent(s) take the remaining one-fourth.

What happens when there are children but no spouse

The entire estate passes to the decedent's descendants per capita at each generation; a deceased child's share passes to that child's descendants.

What happens when there’s no spouse and no children

Order of inheritance: descendants → parents (equally, or the survivor) → descendants of parents (siblings and their descendants) → grandparents or their descendants → next of kin in equal degree → escheat to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

This is where intestacy starts producing results that often surprise people — distant relatives the deceased may not have been close to can end up inheriting, and a long-time unmarried partner inherits nothing.

A Massachusetts-specific quirk

Massachusetts adopted the MUPC but kept its own spousal dollar thresholds ($100,000 and $200,000) rather than the higher inflation-adjusted figures in the model UPC, and it uses 'per capita at each generation' representation under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, §2-106.

What intestacy can’t do (and why it usually fails most people)

Even when Massachusetts’s intestacy rules produce a result close to what someone would have chosen, the rules can never:

• Leave anything to an unmarried partner — intestacy doesn’t recognize unmarried partners regardless of relationship length
• Leave anything to a step-child you didn’t formally adopt
• Leave anything to a friend, charity, or specific person outside your family
• Name a guardian for your minor children — a Massachusetts judge picks
• Specify who handles your estate — a court appoints an administrator
• Identify specific items for specific people
• Account for blended-family dynamics in nuanced ways
• Reduce probate costs and time — intestate estates still go through full probate

For most Massachusetts families, a basic will — costing $300 to $1,500 with a local attorney, or $50 to $300 with an online service — is meaningfully better than the default rules.

What probate looks like in Massachusetts when there’s no will

If someone dies intestate in Massachusetts, the estate still goes through probate. A court appoints an administrator (rather than an “executor” — the title is different for intestacy) to:

1. Inventory the estate’s assets
2. Notify creditors and pay debts
3. Identify legal heirs under Massachusetts’s intestacy statute
4. Distribute remaining assets to heirs according to the statute

For details on what probate costs and how long it takes in Massachusetts, see:

• How Much Does Probate Cost in Massachusetts?
• How Long Does Probate Take in Massachusetts?
• How to Avoid Probate in Massachusetts

What to do this week if you don’t have a will

The most useful single move for any Massachusetts adult without a will:

1. Write a basic will. Either through an online service ($50-$300) or a local attorney ($300-$1,500). Name an executor, name a guardian for any minor children, and specify who inherits what.
2. Update beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, and POD/TOD bank accounts. These pass outside both the will and intestacy.
3. Sign a financial power of attorney and a healthcare directive. These handle incapacity (not death) and prevent your family from needing court-appointed guardianship.

For a Massachusetts family with a typical estate, this whole package usually costs under $1,500 and takes a couple of weeks of intermittent work. It’s substantially cheaper and less stressful than what happens if you don’t do it.

Related reading

• Do I Need a Will? — the honest decision
• How to Write a Will (and What Makes It Valid)
• What Is Probate?
• How to Avoid Probate
• Estate Planning Checklist
• Beneficiary Designations
• Power of Attorney Explained

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This page explains Massachusetts intestacy law in general terms as of 2026. It is not legal advice; intestacy provisions, dollar thresholds, and statute citations can change. Confirm current rules with a licensed Massachusetts attorney before relying on this page. Sources: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, §2-101 (intestate estate), Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, §2-102 (share of surviving spouse), Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, §2-103 (share of heirs other than surviving spouse), Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, §2-106 (representation).