reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-510 - Incorporation by Reference

Section 2–510. [Incorporation by Reference.]
A writing in existence when a will is executed may be incorporated by reference if the language of the will manifests this intent and describes the writing sufficiently to permit its identification.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-511 - Testamentary Additions to Trusts

Section 2–511. [Testamentary Additions to Trusts.]
(a) A will may validly devise property to the trustee of a trust established or to be established (i) during the testator's lifetime by the testator, by the testator and some other person, or by some other person, including a funded or unfunded life insurance trust, although the settler has reserved any or all rights of ownership of the insurance contracts, or (ii) at the testator's death by the testator's devise to the trustee, if the trust is identified in the testator's will and its terms are set forth in a written instrument, other than a will, executed before, or concurrently with, or after the execution of the testator's will or in another individual's will if that other individual has predeceased the testator, regardless of the existence, size, or character of the corpus of the trust. 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.
(b) Unless the testator's will provides otherwise, property devised to a trust described in subsection (a) is not held under a testamentary trust of the testator, but it becomes a part of the trust to which it is devised, and shall be administered and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of the governing instrument setting forth the terms of the trust, including any amendments thereto made before or after the testator's death.
(c) Unless the testator's will provides otherwise, a revocation or termination of the trust before the testator's death causes the devise to lapse.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-512 - Events of Independent Significance

Section 2–512. [Events of Independent Significance.]
A will may dispose of property by reference to acts and events that have significance apart from their effect upon the dispositions made by the will, whether they occur before or after the execution of the will or before or after the testator's death. The execution or revocation of another individual's will is such an event.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-513 - Separate Writing Identifying Devise of Certain Types of Tangible Property

Section 2–513. [Separate Writing Identifying Devise of Certain Types of Tangible Property.]
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. To be admissible under this section as evidence of the intended disposition, the writing shall be signed by the testator and shall describe the items and the devisees with reasonable certainty. The writing may be referred to as one to be in existence at the time of the testator's death; it may be prepared before or after the execution of the will; it may be altered by the testator after its preparation; and it may be a writing that has no significance apart from its effect on the dispositions made by the will.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-514 - Contracts Concerning Succession

Section 2–514. [Contracts Concerning Succession.]
A contract to make or not to make a will or devise, or to revoke or not to revoke a will or devise, or to die intestate, if executed after the effective date of this article, may be established only by (i) provisions of a will stating material provisions of the contract, (ii) an express reference in a will to a contract and extrinsic evidence proving the terms of the contract, or (iii) a writing signed by the decedent evidencing the contract. The execution of a joint will or mutual wills shall not create a presumption of a contract not to revoke the will or wills.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-515 - Deposit of Will With Court in Testator's Lifetime

Section 2–515. [Deposit of Will With Court in Testator's Lifetime.]
A will may be deposited by the testator or the testator's agent with any court for safekeeping, under rules of the court. The will shall be sealed and kept confidential. During the testator's lifetime, a deposited will shall be delivered only to the testator or to a person authorized in writing signed by the testator to receive the will. A guardian of the estate or conservator may be allowed to examine a deposited will of a protected testator under procedures designed to maintain the confidential character of the document to the extent possible, and to ensure that it will be resealed and kept on deposit after the examination. Upon being informed of the testator's death, the court shall notify any person designated to receive the will and deliver it to that person on request; or the court may deliver the will to the appropriate court.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-516 - Duty of Custodian of Will; Liability

Section 2–516. [Duty of Custodian of Will; Liability.]
After the death of a testator a person having custody of a will of the testator shall 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. A person who willfully refuses or fails to deliver a will after being ordered by the court in a proceeding brought for the purpose of compelling delivery is subject to penalty for contempt of court.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-517 - Penalty Clause for Contest

Section 2–517. [Penalty Clause for Contest.]
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.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-601 - Scope

Section 2–601. [Scope.]
In the absence of a finding of a contrary intention shown by the terms of the will, the rules of construction in this part control the construction of a will.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-602 - Will May Pass All Property and After&ndash;acquired Property

Section 2–602. [Will May Pass All Property and After–Acquired Property.]
Property owned by the testator at death and any acquired by the testator's estate thereafter passes under the will unless a different intention appears.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-603 - Anti-Lapse; Deceased Devisee; Class Gifts

Section 2–603. [Anti–Lapse; Deceased Devisee; Class Gifts.]
If a devisee who is a grandparent or a lineal descendant of a grandparent is dead at the time of execution of the will, fails to survive the testator, or is treated as if he predeceased the testator, the issue of the deceased devisee who survive the testator take in place of the deceased devisee and if they are all of the same degree of kinship to the devisee they take equally, but if of unequal degree than those of more remote degree take per capita at each generation. A person who would have been a devisee under a class gift if he had survived the testator is treated as a devisee for purposes of this section whether his death occurred before or after the execution of the will.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-604 - Failure of Testamentary Provision

Section 2–604. [Failure of Testamentary Provision.]
(a) Except as provided in section 2–603, a devise, other than a residuary devise, that fails for any reason becomes a part of the residue.
(b) Except as provided in section 2–603, if the residue is devised to 2 or more persons, the share of a residuary devisee that fails for any reason passes to the other residuary devisee, or to other residuary devisees in proportion to the interest of each in the remaining part of the residue.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-605 - Increase in Devised Securities; Accessions

Section 2–605. [Increase in Devised Securities; Accessions.]
(a) If a testator executes a will that devises securities and the testator then owned securities that meet the description in the will, the devise includes additional securities owned by the testator at death to the extent the additional securities were acquired by the testator after the will was executed as a result of the testator's ownership of the described securities and are securities of any of the following types:
(1) securities of the same organization acquired by reason of action initiated by the organization or any successor, related, or acquiring organization, excluding any acquired by exercise of purchase options;
(2) securities of another organization acquired as a result of a merger, consolidation, reorganization, or other distribution by the organization or any successor, related, or acquiring organization; or
(3) securities of the same organization acquired as a result of a plan of reinvestment.
(b) Distributions in cash before death with respect to a described security are not part of the devise.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-606 - Nonademption of Specific Devises; Unpaid Proceeds of Sale, Condemnation, or Insurance; Sale by Conservator or Agent

Section 2–606. [Nonademption of Specific Devises; Unpaid Proceeds of Sale, Condemnation, or Insurance; Sale by Conservator or Agent.]
(a) A specific devisee has a right to the specifically devised property in the testator's estate at death and:
(1) any balance of the purchase price, together with any security agreement, owing from a purchaser to the testator at death by reason of sale of the property;
(2) any amount of a condemnation award for the taking of the property unpaid at death;
(3) any proceeds unpaid at death on fire or casualty insurance on or other recovery for injury to the property; and
(4) property owned by the testator at death and acquired as a result of foreclosure, or obtained in lieu of foreclosure, of the security interest for a specifically devised obligation.
(b) If specifically devised property is sold or mortgaged by a guardian of the estate conservator or by an agent acting within the authority of a durable power of attorney for an incapacitated principal, or if a condemnation award, insurance proceeds, or recovery for injury to the property are paid to a conservator or to an agent acting within the authority of a durable power of attorney for an incapacitated principal, the specific devisee has the right to a general pecuniary devise equal to the net sale price, the amount of the unpaid loan, the condemnation award, the insurance proceeds, or the recovery.
(c) The right of a specific devisee under subsection (b) is reduced by any right the devisee has under subsection (a).
(d) For the purposes of the references in subsection (b) to a conservator, subsection (b) shall not apply if after the sale, mortgage, condemnation, casualty, or recovery, it was adjudicated that the testator's incapacity ceased and the testator survived the adjudication by 1 year.
(e) For the purposes of the references in subsection (b) to an agent acting within the authority of a durable power of attorney for an incapacitated principal, (i) ''incapacitated principal'' means a principal who is an incapacitated person, (ii) no adjudication of incapacity before death is necessary, and (iii) the acts of an agent within the authority of a durable power of attorney are presumed to be for an incapacitated principal.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-607 - Nonexoneration

Section 2–607. [Nonexoneration.]
A specific devise passes subject to any mortgage interest existing at the date of death, without right of exoneration, regardless of a general directive in the will to pay debts.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-608 - Exercise of Power of Appointment

Section 2–608. [Exercise of Power of Appointment.]
(a) In the absence of a requirement that a power of appointment be exercised by a reference, or by an express or specific reference, to the power, a general residuary clause in a will, or a will making general disposition of all of the testator's property, expresses an intention to exercise a power of appointment held by the testator only if (i) the power is a general power and the creating instrument does not contain an effective gift if the power is not exercised or (ii) the testator's will manifests an intention to include the property subject to the power.
(b) Unless a contrary intent is manifested in the terms of an instrument creating or limiting a power of appointment, it shall be presumed that the person so creating or limiting such power intended to authorize the donee thereof, when exercising said power, not only to create absolute interests but also to create less than absolute legal and equitable interests, including interests in trust for the benefit of objects of said power even though the trustees thereof may not be objects of said power and including new powers of appointment, general or more limited, in objects of said power, even though the objects of the new powers may include one or more that are not objects of said power.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-609 - Ademption by Satisfaction

Section 2–609. [Ademption by Satisfaction.]
(a) Property a testator gave in the testator's lifetime to a person is treated as a satisfaction of a devise in whole or in part, only if (i) the will provides for deduction of the gift, (ii) the testator declared in a contemporaneous writing that the gift is in satisfaction of the devise or that its value is to be deducted from the value of the devise, or (iii) the devisee acknowledged in writing that the gift is in satisfaction of the devise or that its value is to be deducted from the value of the devise.
(b) For purposes of partial satisfaction, property given during lifetime shall be valued as expressed in the will or in the contemporaneous writing; if it is not so valued, such property shall be valued as of the time the devisee came into possession or enjoyment of the property or at the testator's death, whichever occurs first.
(c) If the devisee fails to survive the testator, the gift is treated as a full or partial satisfaction of the devise, as appropriate, in applying sections 2–603 and 2–604, unless the testator's contemporaneous writing provides otherwise.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-610 - Annuities

Section 2–610. [Annuities.]
(a) If an annuity, or the use, rent, income or interest of property, real or personal, is given by will or by trust instrument for the benefit of a person for life or until the happening of a contingency, such person shall be entitled to receive and enjoy the same from and after the death of the deceased, unless it is otherwise provided in such will or trust instrument.
[There is no subsection (b).]
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-701 - Scope

Section 2–701. [Scope.]
In the absence of a finding of a contrary intention shown by the terms of the will, the rules of construction in this part control the construction of a governing instrument. The rules of construction in this part apply to a governing instrument of any type, except as the application of a particular section is limited by its terms to a specific type or types of donative disposition or governing instrument.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-703 - Choice of Law as to Meaning and Effect of Donative Dispositions

Section 2–703. [Choice of Law as to Meaning and Effect of Donative Dispositions.]
The meaning and legal effect of a donative disposition is determined by the local law of the state selected by the transferor in the governing instrument, unless the application of that law is contrary to the provisions relating to the elective share described in part 2, the provisions relating to exempt property and allowances described in part 4, or any other public policy of the commonwealth otherwise applicable to the disposition.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-704 - Taxes on Qtips

Section 2–704. [Taxes on QTIPS.]
A direction in a will or instrument of trust to pay taxes caused by, resulting from, or imposed by reason of the death of the testator or donor, as the case may be, out of the decedent's probate estate or trust estate or other property, shall not include, unless the will or instrument of trust or a provision of such tax laws specifically provides otherwise, taxes levied or assessed under the tax laws of the United States or of the commonwealth or of any foreign state or commonwealth on any qualified terminable interest property in which the decedent had a qualifying income interest for life.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-705 - Class Gifts Construed to Accord With Intestate Succession

Section 2–705. [Class Gifts Construed to Accord with Intestate Succession.]
(a) Adopted individuals and individuals born out of wedlock, and their respective descendants if appropriate to the class, are included in class gifts and other terms of relationship in accordance with the rules for intestate succession. Terms of relationship that do not differentiate relationships by blood from those by affinity, such as ''uncles'', ''aunts'', ''nieces'', or ''nephews'', are construed to exclude relatives by affinity. Terms of relationship that do not differentiate relationships by the half blood from those by the whole blood, such as ''brothers'', ''sisters'', ''nieces'', or ''nephews'', are construed to include both types of relationships.
(b) In addition to the requirements of subsection (a), in construing a donative disposition by a transferor who is not the adopting parent, an adopted individual is not considered the child of the adopting parent unless the adoption took place while the person adopted was a minor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-707 - Survivorship With Respect to Future Interests Under Terms of Trust; Substitute Takers

Section 2–707. [Survivorship with respect to future interests under terms of trust; substitute takers.]
(a) If an instrument is silent on the requirement of survivorship, a future interest under the terms of a trust shall be contingent on the beneficiary surviving the distribution date. In that case, if a beneficiary of a future interest under the terms of a trust fails to survive the distribution date, the following shall apply:
(1) If the future interest is not in the form of a class gift and the deceased beneficiary leaves surviving descendants, a substitute gift shall be created in the beneficiary's surviving descendants. Such descendants shall take per capita at each generation the property to which the beneficiary would have been entitled had the beneficiary survived the distribution date.
(2) If the future interest is in the form of a class gift, other than a future interest to ''issue'', ''descendants'', ''heirs of the body'', ''heirs'', ''next of kin'', ''relatives'' or ''family'', or a class described by language of similar import, a substitute gift shall be created in the deceased beneficiary or beneficiaries' surviving descendants. The property to which the beneficiaries would have been entitled had all of the beneficiaries survived the distribution date shall pass to the surviving beneficiaries and the surviving descendants of the deceased beneficiaries. Each surviving beneficiary shall take the share to which the surviving beneficiary would have been entitled had the deceased beneficiaries survived the distribution date. Each deceased beneficiary's surviving descendants who are substituted for the deceased beneficiary take per capita at each generation the share to which the deceased beneficiary would have been entitled had the deceased beneficiary survived the distribution date. For the purposes of this paragraph, ''deceased beneficiary'' shall mean a class member who failed to survive the distribution date and left 1 or more surviving descendants.
(b) If, after the application of subsection (a), there is no surviving taker, the property shall pass in the following order:
(1) if the trust was created in a nonresiduary devise in the transferor's will or in a codicil to the transferor's will, the property shall pass under the residuary clause in the transferor's will. For purposes of this section, a residuary clause shall be treated as creating a future interest under the terms of a trust;
(2) if no taker is produced by the application of clause (1), the property shall pass to the transferor's heirs under section 2–711.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-708 - Class Gifts to ''descendants'', ''issue'', or ''heirs of the Body''; Form of Distributions if None Specified

Section 2–708. [Class Gifts to ''Descendants'', ''Issue'', or ''Heirs of the Body''; Form of Distribution If None Specified.]
If a class gift in favor of ''descendants'', ''issue'', or ''heirs of the body'' does not specify the manner in which the property is to be distributed among the class members, the property is distributed among the class members who are living when the interest is to take effect in possession or enjoyment, in such shares as they would receive, under the applicable law of intestate succession, if the designated ancestor had then died intestate owning the subject matter of the class gift.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-709 - Representation; per Capita at Each Generation; per Stirpes

Section 2–709. [Representation; Per Capita at Each Generation; Per Stirpes.]
(a) In this section:
(1) ''Deceased child'' or ''deceased descendant'', a child or a descendant who predeceased the distribution date.
(2) ''Distribution date'', with respect to an interest, is the time when the interest is to take effect in possession or enjoyment. The distribution date need not occur at the beginning or end of a calendar day, but can occur at a time during the course of a day.
(3) ''Surviving ancestor'', ''surviving child'', or ''surviving descendant'', an ancestor, a child, or a descendant who did not predecease the distribution date.
(b) If an applicable statute or a governing instrument calls for property to be distributed ''per capita at each generation'', the property is divided into as many equal shares as there are (i) surviving descendants in the generation nearest to the designated ancestor which contains 1 or more surviving descendants (ii) and deceased descendants in the same generation who left surviving descendants, if any. Each surviving descendant in the nearest generation is allocated 1 share. The remaining shares, if any, are combined and then divided in the same manner among the surviving descendants of the deceased descendants as if the surviving descendants who were allocated a share and their surviving descendants had predeceased the distribution date.
(c) If a governing instrument calls for property to be distributed ''by representation'' or ''per stirpes'', the property is divided into as many equal shares as there are (i) surviving children of the designated ancestor and (ii) deceased children who left surviving descendants. Each surviving child is allocated 1 share. The share of each deceased child with surviving descendants is divided in the same manner, with subdivision repeating at each succeeding generation until the property is fully allocated among surviving descendants.
(d) For the purposes of subsections (b) and (c), an individual who is deceased and left no surviving descendant is disregarded, and an individual who leaves a surviving ancestor who is a descendant of the designated ancestor is not entitled to a share.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-710 - Worthier Title Doctrine Abolished

Section 2–710. [Worthier Title Doctrine Abolished.]
The doctrine of worthier title shall not exist in the commonwealth either as a rule of law or as a rule of construction. Language in a governing instrument describing the beneficiaries of a donative disposition as the transferor's ''heirs'', ''heirs at law'', ''next of kin'', ''distributes'', ''relatives'', or ''family'', or language of similar import, shall not create or presumptively create a reversionary interest in the transferor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-711 - Future Interests in ''heirs'' and Like

Section 2–711. [Future Interests in ''Heirs'' and Like.]
If an applicable statute or a governing instrument calls for a future distribution to or creates a future interest in a designated individual's ''heirs'', ''heirs at law'', ''next of kin'', ''relatives'', or ''family'', or language of similar import, the property passes to those persons, including the commonwealth under section 2–105, and in such shares as would succeed to the designated individual's intestate estate under the intestate succession law of the designated individual's domicile if the designated individual died when the donative disposition is to take effect in possession or enjoyment. If the designated individual's surviving spouse is living but is remarried at the time the interest is to take effect in possession or enjoyment, the surviving spouse is not an heir of the designated individual.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-802 - Effect of Divorce, Annulment, and Decree of Separation

Section 2–802. [Effect of Divorce, Annulment, and Decree of Separation.]
(a) An individual who is divorced from the decedent is not a surviving spouse unless, by virtue of a subsequent marriage, the individual is married to the decedent at the time of death. A judgment of separation that does not terminate the status of husband and wife is not a divorce for purposes of this section.
(b) For purposes of parts 1 to 4, inclusive, of this article, and of section 3–203, a surviving spouse shall not include:
(1) an individual who obtains or consents to a final decree or judgment of divorce from the decedent or an annulment of their marriage, which decree or judgment is not recognized as valid in the commonwealth, unless subsequently they participate in a marriage ceremony purporting to marry each to the other or live together as husband and wife;
(2) an individual who, following an invalid decree or judgment of divorce or annulment obtained by the decedent, participates in a marriage ceremony with a third individual; or
(3) an individual who was a party to a valid proceeding concluded by an order purporting to terminate all marital property rights.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-901 - Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities

Section 2–901. [Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities.]
(a) A nonvested property interest is invalid unless:
(1) when the interest is created, it is certain to vest or terminate no later than 21 years after the death of an individual then alive; or
(2) the interest either vests or terminates within 90 years after its creation.
(b) A general power of appointment not presently exercisable because of a condition precedent is invalid unless:
(1) when the power is created, the condition precedent is certain to be satisfied or becomes impossible to satisfy no later than 21 years after the death of an individual then alive; or
(2) the condition precedent either is satisfied or becomes impossible to satisfy within 90 years after its creation.
(c) A nongeneral power of appointment or a general testamentary power of appointment is invalid unless:
(1) when the power is created, it is certain to be irrevocably exercised or otherwise to terminate no later than 21 years after the death of an individual then alive; or
(2) the power is irrevocably exercised or otherwise terminates within 90 years after its creation.
(d) In determining whether a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment is valid under subsection (a)(1), (b)(1), or (c)(1), the possibility that a child will be born to an individual after the individual's death is disregarded.
(e) If, in measuring a period from the creation of a trust or other property arrangement, language in a governing instrument (i) seeks to disallow the vesting or termination of any interest or trust beyond, (ii) seeks to postpone the vesting or termination of any interest or trust until, or (iii) seeks to operate in effect in any similar fashion upon, the later of (A) the expiration of a period of time not exceeding 21 years after the death of the survivor of specified lives in being at the creation of the trust or other property arrangement or (B) the expiration of a period of time that exceeds or might exceed 21 years after the death of the survivor of lives in being at the creation of the trust or other property arrangement, that language is inoperative to the extent it produces a period of time that exceeds 21 years after the death of the survivor of the specified lives.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-902 - When Nonvested Property Interest or Power of Attorney Appointment Created

Section 2–902. [When Nonvested Property Interest or Power of Attorney Appointment Created.]
(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) and in section 2–905(a), the time of creation of a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment is determined under general principles of property law.
(b) For purposes of this part, if there is a person who alone can exercise a power created by a governing instrument to become the unqualified beneficial owner of (i) a nonvested property interest or (ii) a property interest subject to a power of appointment described in section 2–901(b) or (c), the nonvested property interest or power of appointment is created when the power to become the unqualified beneficial owner terminates.
(c) For purposes of this part, a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment arising from a transfer of property to a previously funded trust or other existing property arrangement is created when the nonvested property interest or power of appointment in the original contribution was created.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-903 - Reformation

Section 2–903. [Reformation.]
Upon the petition of an interested person, a court shall reform a disposition in the manner that most closely approximates the transferor's manifested plan of distribution and is within the 90 years allowed by section 2–901(a)(2), 2–901(b)(2), or 2–901(c)(2) if:
(1) a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment becomes invalid under section 2–901 (statutory rule against perpetuities);
(2) a class gift is not but might become invalid under section 2–901 (statutory rule against perpetuities) and the time has arrived when the share of any class member is to take effect in possession or enjoyment; or
(3) a nonvested property interest that is not validated by section 2–901(a)(1) can vest but not within 90 years after its creation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-904 - Exclusions From Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities

Section 2–904. [Exclusions from Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities.]
Section 2–901 shall not apply to:
(1) a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment arising out of a nondonative transfer, except a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment arising out of (i) a premarital or postmarital agreement, (ii) a separation or divorce settlement, (iii) a spouse's election, (iv) a similar arrangement arising out of a prospective, existing, or previous marital relationship between the parties, (v) a contract to make or not to revoke a will or trust, (vi) a contract to exercise or not to exercise a power of appointment, (vii) a transfer in satisfaction of a duty of support, or (viii) a reciprocal transfer;
(2) a fiduciary's power relating to the administration or management of assets, including the power of a fiduciary to sell, lease, or mortgage property, and the power of a fiduciary to determine principal and income;
(3) a power to appoint a fiduciary;
(4) a discretionary power of a trustee to distribute principal before termination of a trust to a beneficiary having an indefeasibly vested interest in the income and principal;
(5) a nonvested property interest held by a charity, government, or governmental agency or subdivision, if the nonvested property interest is preceded by an interest held by another charity, government, or governmental agency or subdivision;
(6) a nonvested property interest in or a power of appointment with respect to a trust or other property arrangement forming part of a pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus, health, disability, death benefit, income deferral, or other current or deferred benefit plan for 1 or more employees, independent contractors, or their beneficiaries or spouses, to which contributions are made for the purpose of distributing to or for the benefit of the participants or their beneficiaries or spouses the property, income, or principal in the trust or other property arrangement, except a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment that is created by an election of a participant or a beneficiary or spouse; or
(7) a property interest, power of appointment, or arrangement that was not subject to the common-law rule against perpetuities or is excluded by another statute of the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-905 - Prospective Application

Section 2–905. [Prospective Application.]
(a) Except as extended by subsection (b), this part applies to a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment that is created on or after the effective date of this part. For purposes of this section, a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment created by the exercise of a power of appointment is created when the power is irrevocably exercised or when a revocable exercise becomes irrevocable.
(b) If a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment was created before the effective date of this part and is determined in a judicial proceeding, commenced on or after the effective date of this part, to violate the commonwealth's rule against perpetuities as that rule existed before the effective date of this part, a court upon the petition of an interested person may reform the disposition in the manner that most closely approximates the transferor's manifested plan of distribution and is within the limits of the rule against perpetuities applicable when the nonvested property interest or power of appointment was created.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-906 - Supersession

Section 2–906. [Supersession.] This part supersedes the rule of the common law known as the rule against perpetuities.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article III - Probate of Wills and Administration › Section 3-101 - Devolution of Estate at Death; Restrictions

Section 3–101. [Devolution of Estate at Death; Restrictions.]
The power of a person to leave property by will, and the rights of creditors, devisees, and heirs to property are subject to the restrictions and limitations contained in this chapter to facilitate the prompt settlement of estates. Upon the death of a person, the decedent's real and personal property devolves to the persons to whom it is devised by the decedent's last will or to those indicated as substitutes for them in cases involving lapse, renunciation, or other circumstances affecting the devolution of testate estate, or in the absence of testamentary disposition, to the decedent's heirs, or to those indicated as substitutes for them in cases involving renunciation or other circumstances affecting devolution of intestate estates, subject to allowances and exempt property, to rights of creditors, elective share of the surviving spouse, and to administration.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article III - Probate of Wills and Administration › Section 3-102 - Necessity of Order of Probate for Will

Section 3–102. [Necessity of Order of Probate for Will.]
Except as provided in section 3–1201, to be effective to prove the transfer of any property or to nominate an executor, a will shall be declared to be valid by an order of informal probate by a magistrate or an adjudication of probate by the court, except that a duly executed and unrevoked will which has not been probated may be admitted as evidence of a devise if (1) no court proceeding concerning the succession or administration of the estate has occurred, and (2) either the devisee or the devisee's successors and assigns possessed the property devised in accordance with the provisions of the will, or the property devised was not possessed or claimed by anyone by virtue of the decedent's title during the time period for testacy proceedings.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 190b - Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code › Article III - Probate of Wills and Administration › Section 3-103 - Necessity of Appointment for Administration

Section 3–103. [Necessity of Appointment for Administration.]
Except as otherwise provided in article IV, to acquire the powers and undertake the duties and liabilities of a personal representative of a decedent, a person shall be appointed by order of the court or a magistrate, qualify and be issued letters. Administration of an estate is commenced by the issuance of letters.