Massachusetts Probate Bonds,
Handled Simply.

Probate in Massachusetts is handled by the Probate and Family Court, which has a division in each of the state's 14 counties. You file in the county where the decedent was domiciled at death. Most estates move through informal probate, which a magistrate processes without a hearing, while contested or complex estates go through formal probate before a judge.

Massachusetts adopted the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code, G.L. c. 190B, effective in 2012. The estate fiduciary is called the personal representative, the single term the MUPC uses for both executors and administrators. The bond rules sit in Sections 3-603 through 3-605.

Massachusetts imposes its own estate tax on estates valued at $2,000,000 or more, a threshold raised from $1,000,000 effective January 1, 2023. It has no inheritance tax, so the estate tax is the main state death tax the personal representative must plan for.

When sureties are required, the bond amount is set under G.L. c. 190B Section 3-604:

• Equal to the personal estate: If the will or order does not specify an amount, the personal representative files a sworn statement of the best estimate of the value of the decedent's personal estate and files a bond in that amount.
• Reduced by secured deposits: The court may reduce the bond by the value of estate assets deposited with a domestic financial institution in a way that prevents their unauthorized disposition.
• Adjustable: On petition of the personal representative or another interested person, the court may increase or reduce the amount, release the surety, or permit substitution of another bond.
• Fixed penalty required: The bond must state a fixed penalty amount, because without one the surety's liability would be unlimited.

Massachusetts is distinctive because a bond is always required, but the sureties on it can be waived. Under G.L. c. 190B Section 3-603, sureties are required unless:

• The will waives sureties: The will directs that there be no bond or waives the requirement of surety on the bond.
• All heirs or devisees waive: All of the heirs, if there is no will, or all of the devisees named in a will, file a written waiver of sureties.
• A bank or trust company serves: The personal representative is a bank or trust company qualified to do trust business in Massachusetts.
• The court finds sureties not in the best interest: The court concludes that sureties are not in the best interests of the estate.
• Demand for sureties: Under Section 3-605, an interested person may demand sureties, and the personal representative must then file a bond with sureties within 30 days of notice or face removal. In any formal proceeding the court may require sureties on its own motion.

Even where sureties are waived, the bond without sureties still binds the personal representative's own liability to the estate.

Filing a Massachusetts probate bond follows the MUPC and Probate and Family Court practice:

• Filed to qualify: The personal representative files the bond, with sureties if required, before letters of authority are issued, using the court's bond form.
• Filed in the right division: The bond is filed with the Probate and Family Court division for the county where the decedent was domiciled at death.
• Fixed penalty amount: The bond states a fixed penalty equal to the estimated value of the personal estate, unless the will or court order sets a different amount.
• Sureties when required: When sureties are not waived, a corporate surety authorized in Massachusetts signs the bond, and the sufficiency of corporate sureties is not separately determined by the magistrate.
• Demand and modification: An interested person can demand sureties before or after appointment, and the court can later increase, reduce, release, or substitute the bond on petition.
• Bond stays in force: The bond remains in effect until the estate is settled and the court discharges the personal representative.

When sureties are required, the cost is a premium paid to the surety company. When sureties are waived, the bond is filed without a surety and there is no premium.

• Typical rate range: Most Massachusetts probate bonds with sureties are priced at roughly 0.5% to 1% of the bond amount per year for well-qualified applicants. A $100,000 bond commonly costs between $500 and $1,000 per year.
• Intestate estates more often need sureties: When there is no will to waive sureties, the estate more often needs a bond with sureties, which is one reason intestate estates cost more to administer.
• Minimum premium: Many sureties apply a minimum premium of about $100 to $150 for small bonds.
• Reduced by deposits: Depositing estate assets with a domestic financial institution in a restricted manner reduces the bond and the premium.
• Annual renewal: Massachusetts estates can stay open across more than one year, so the premium is charged annually until the court discharges the personal representative.
• Premium as an estate expense: Massachusetts courts generally allow the bond premium to be paid from estate assets as a cost of administration.

Beyond the standard personal representative bond, Massachusetts probate practice uses several additional bond types:

• Bond With Sureties: The standard bond when sureties are not waived, with a corporate surety guaranteeing the personal representative's faithful performance.
• Bond Without Sureties: The bond every personal representative files when sureties are waived, which still binds the personal representative's own liability to the estate.
• Special Personal Representative Bond: When the court appoints a special personal representative to protect estate assets before a general appointment, it may require a bond for that role.
• Guardian or Conservator Bond: A guardian or conservator of a minor or an incapacitated person, appointed under the MUPC, may be required to file a bond with sureties tied to the property under management.
• VA Fiduciary Bond: A fiduciary appointed to manage benefits for a veteran answers to both the Massachusetts court and the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, and the bond may reflect both the estate and the benefits under management.

Massachusetts does not run a licensing board for private professional fiduciaries, but the MUPC places clear duties on every personal representative:

• Bond in all cases: Massachusetts preserves its practice of requiring a bond of every personal representative, so the bond itself is never waived even though the sureties on it can be.
• Sureties on demand: An interested person can demand sureties at any time, and the personal representative must then file a bond with sureties within 30 days or be subject to removal.
• Fiduciary standard: The personal representative owes a fiduciary duty of care, loyalty, and impartiality to all interested persons, including beneficiaries, heirs, and creditors.
• Inventory and accounts: Within three months of appointment the personal representative files an inventory, and accounts follow, all subject to Probate and Family Court review.
• Banks and trust companies: A bank or trust company qualified to exercise trust powers in Massachusetts may serve without sureties, with the court overseeing its accounts.

• Barnstable, Probate and Family Court (Barnstable)
• Berkshire, Probate and Family Court (Pittsfield)
• Bristol, Probate and Family Court (Taunton)
• Dukes, Probate and Family Court (Edgartown)
• Essex, Probate and Family Court (Salem)
• Franklin, Probate and Family Court (Greenfield)
• Hampden, Probate and Family Court (Springfield)
• Hampshire, Probate and Family Court (Northampton)
• Middlesex, Probate and Family Court (Woburn)
• Nantucket, Probate and Family Court (Nantucket)
• Norfolk, Probate and Family Court (Canton)
• Plymouth, Probate and Family Court (Plymouth)
• Suffolk, Probate and Family Court (Boston)
• Worcester, Probate and Family Court (Worcester)