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 I - General Provisions, Definitions and Probate Jurisdiction of Court › Section 1-104 - Severability

Section 1–104. [Severability.]
If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are declared to be severable.
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 I - General Provisions, Definitions and Probate Jurisdiction of Court › Section 1-105 - Construction Against Implied Repeal

Section 1–105. [Construction Against Implied Repeal.]
This chapter is a general act intended as a unified coverage of its subject matter and no part of it shall be deemed impliedly repealed by subsequent legislation if it can reasonably be avoided.
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 I - General Provisions, Definitions and Probate Jurisdiction of Court › Section 1-106 - Effect of Fraud and Evasion

Section 1–106. [Effect of Fraud and Evasion.]
Whenever fraud has been perpetrated in connection with any proceeding or in any statement filed under this chapter or if fraud is used to avoid or circumvent the provisions or purposes of this chapter, any person injured thereby may obtain appropriate relief against the perpetrator of the fraud or restitution from any person other than a bona fide purchaser benefiting from the fraud, whether innocent or not. Any proceeding shall be commenced within 2 years after the discovery of the fraud, but no proceeding may be brought against one not a perpetrator of the fraud later than 5 years after the time of commission of the fraud. This section has no bearing on remedies relating to fraud practiced on a decedent during the decedent's lifetime which affects the succession of the decedent's estate.
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 I - General Provisions, Definitions and Probate Jurisdiction of Court › Section 1-107 - Evidence of Death or Status

Section 1–107. [Evidence of Death or Status.]
In addition to the rules of evidence in courts of general jurisdiction, the following rules relating to a determination of death and status apply:—
(1) Death occurs when an individual has sustained either (i) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions or (ii) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem. A determination of death shall be made in accordance with accepted medical standards.
(2) A certified or authenticated copy of a death certificate purporting to be issued by an official or agency of the place where the death purportedly occurred is prima facie evidence of the fact, place, date, and time of death and the identity of the decedent.
(3) A certified or authenticated copy of any record or report of a governmental agency, domestic or foreign, that an individual is missing, detained, dead, or alive is prima facie evidence of the status and of the dates, circumstances, and places disclosed by the record or report.
(4) In the absence of prima facie evidence of death under paragraph (2) or (3), the fact of death may be established by evidence, including circumstantial evidence.
(5) An individual whose death is not established under the preceding paragraphs who is absent for a continuous period of 5 years, during which the person has not been heard from, and whose absence is not satisfactorily explained after diligent search or inquiry, is presumed to be dead. The person's death is presumed to have occurred at the end of the period unless there is sufficient evidence for determining that death occurred earlier.
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 I - General Provisions, Definitions and Probate Jurisdiction of Court › Section 1-108 - Act by Holder of General Power

Section 1–108. [Act by Holder of General Power.]
For the purpose of granting consent or approval with regard to the acts or accounts of a personal representative or trustee, including relief from liability or penalty for failure to post bond or to perform other duties, and for purposes of consenting to modification or termination of a trust or to deviation from its terms,
(i) the sole holder or all co-holders of a presently exercisable general power of appointment, including one in the form of a power of amendment or revocation, or a presently exercisable power to appoint among a class of appointees which is broader than the class of those persons who would take in default of the exercise of such power,
(ii) if the court so permits in its discretion, the sole holder or all co-holders of a testamentary general power of appointment, or a testamentary power to appoint among a class of appointees which is broader than the class of those persons who would take in default of the exercise of such power,
are deemed to act for beneficiaries to the extent their interests (as objects, takers in default, or otherwise) are subject to the 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 I - General Provisions, Definitions and Probate Jurisdiction of Court › Section 1-109 - Standard of Proof

Section 1–109. [Standard of Proof.]
In contested cases, the standard of proof is a preponderance of the evidence.
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 I - General Provisions, Definitions and Probate Jurisdiction of Court › Section 1-301 - Territorial Application

Section 1–301. [Territorial Application.]
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, this chapter applies to: (1) the affairs and estates of decedents and missing persons domiciled in the commonwealth, (2) the property of nonresidents located in the commonwealth or property coming into the control of a fiduciary who is subject to the laws of the commonwealth, (3) incapacitated persons, protected persons and minors in the commonwealth, (4) survivorship and related accounts in the commonwealth, and (5) trusts subject to administration in 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 I - General Provisions, Definitions and Probate Jurisdiction of Court › Section 1-302 - Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Section 1–302. [Subject Matter Jurisdiction.]
(a) To the full extent permitted by the constitution, the court has jurisdiction over all subject matter relating to: (1) estates of decedents, including construction of wills and determination of heirs and successors of decedents, and estates of protected persons, (2) protection of minors and incapacitated persons, (3) trusts, and (4) any other matters authorized by section 6 of chapter 215. The district court and the juvenile court shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the probate and family court to appoint guardians of minors when the subject of the petition is a minor and there is a proceeding before such district or juvenile court. The district and juvenile court shall have continuing jurisdiction over resignation, removal, reporting, and other proceedings related to the guardianship.
(b) The court has full power to make orders, judgments and decrees and take all other action necessary and proper to administer justice in the matters which come before it.
(c) The court has jurisdiction over protective proceedings and guardianship proceedings. Part 2 of Article 5A provides the exclusive jurisdictional basis for a court of the commonwealth to appoint a guardian or issue a protective order for an adult.
(d) If both guardianship and protective proceedings as to the same person are commenced or pending in the same court, the proceedings may be consolidated.
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 I - General Provisions, Definitions and Probate Jurisdiction of Court › Section 1-303 - Venue; Multiple Proceedings; Transfer

Section 1–303. [Venue; Multiple Proceedings; Transfer.]
(a) Where a proceeding under this chapter could be maintained in more than one place in the commonwealth, the division in which the proceeding is first commenced has the exclusive right to proceed.
(b) If proceedings concerning the same estate, protected person, ward, or trust are commenced in more than one court of the commonwealth, the court in which the proceeding was first commenced shall continue to hear the matter, and the other courts shall hold the matter in abeyance until the question of venue is decided, and if the ruling court determines that venue is properly in another court, it shall transfer the proceeding to the other court.
(c) If a court finds that in the interest of justice a proceeding or a file should be located in another court of the commonwealth, the court making the finding may transfer the proceeding or file to the other 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 I - General Provisions, Definitions and Probate Jurisdiction of Court › Section 1-307 - Magistrate; Powers

Section 1–307. [Magistrate; Powers.]
The acts and orders which this chapter specifies as performable by the magistrate may be performed either by the magistrate or such other official of the court, including a judge or other official of the court, all as designated by the court by a written order filed and recorded in the office of the 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 I - General Provisions, Definitions and Probate Jurisdiction of Court › Section 1-310 - Oath of Affirmation on Filed Documents

Section 1–310. [Oath or Affirmation on Filed Documents.]
Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter or by rule, every document filed with the court under this chapter including petitions, and demands for notice, shall be deemed to include an oath, affirmation, or statement to the effect that its representations are true as far as the person executing or filing it knows or is informed, and penalties for perjury may follow deliberate falsification therein.
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 I - General Provisions, Definitions and Probate Jurisdiction of Court › Section 1-402 - Notice; Waiver

Section 1–402. [Notice; Waiver.]
A person, including a guardian ad litem, conservator, or other fiduciary, may waive notice by a writing signed by the person or the person's attorney and filed in the proceeding. A person for whom a guardianship or other protective order is sought, a ward, incapacitated person or a protected person may not waive notice.
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 I - General Provisions, Definitions and Probate Jurisdiction of Court › Section 1-403 - Pleadings; When Parties Bound by Others; Notice

Section 1–403. [Pleadings; When Parties Bound by Others; Notice.]
In formal proceedings involving trusts or estates of decedents, minors, protected persons, or incapacitated persons, and in judicially supervised settlements, the following apply:
(1) Interests to be affected shall be described in pleadings which give reasonable information to owners by name or class, by reference to the instrument creating the interests, or in other appropriate manner.
(2) Persons are bound by orders binding others in the following cases:
(i) Orders binding the sole holder or all co-holders of a power of revocation or a presently exercisable general power of appointment, including one in the form of a power of amendment, or a presently exercisable power to appoint among a class of appointees which is broader than the class of those persons who would take in default of the exercise of such power, bind other persons to the extent their interests as objects, takers in default, or otherwise are subject to the power.
(ii) To the extent there is no conflict of interest between them or among persons represented, orders binding a conservator bind the person whose estate the conservator controls; orders binding a guardian bind the protected person or ward if no conservator has been appointed; orders binding a trustee bind beneficiaries of the trust in proceedings to probate a will establishing or adding to a trust, to review the acts or accounts of a prior fiduciary and in proceedings involving creditors or other third parties; and orders binding a personal representative bind persons interested in the undistributed assets of a decedent's estate in actions or proceedings by or against the estate. If there is no conflict of interest and no conservator or guardian has been appointed, a parent may represent a minor child.
(iii) An unborn or unascertained person who is not otherwise represented is bound by an order to the extent the person's interest is adequately represented by another party having a substantially identical interest in the proceeding.
(3) Notice is required as follows:
(i) Notice as prescribed by section 1–401 shall be given to every interested person or to one who can bind an interested person as described in (2)(i) or (2)(ii) above. Notice may be given both to a person and to another who may bind such person.
(ii) Notice is given to unborn or unascertained persons, who are not represented under (2)(i) or (2)(ii), by giving notice to all known persons whose interest in the proceedings are substantially identical to those of the unborn or unascertained persons.
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 I - General Provisions, Definitions and Probate Jurisdiction of Court › Section 1-404 - Guardian Ad Litem and Next Friend

Section 1–404. [Guardian Ad Litem and Next Friend.]
(a) If, in a formal proceeding involving trusts or estates of decedents, minors, protected persons or incapacitated persons and in judicially supervised settlements, or otherwise, a minor, a protected person, an incapacitated person or a person not ascertained or not in being may be or may become interested in any property, real or personal or, in the enforcement or defense of any legal rights, the court in which any action, petition or proceeding of any kind relative to or affecting any such estate or legal rights is pending may, upon the representation of any party thereto or of any person interested, appoint a suitable person to appear and act therein as guardian ad litem or next friend of such minor, protected person, incapacitated person or person not ascertained or not in being. A judgment, order or decree issued as a result of such proceedings, following an appointment made under this subsection, shall be conclusive upon all persons for whom a guardian ad litem or next friend was appointed.
(b) The reasonable expenses of such guardian ad litem or next friend, including compensation and counsel fees, shall be determined by the court and paid as it may order, either out of the estate or by the plaintiff, petitioner or the commonwealth. If such expenses are to be paid by the plaintiff or petitioner execution therefor may issue in the name of the guardian ad litem or next friend.
(c) Nothing in this code shall affect the power of a court to appoint a guardian or conservator to defend the interests of a minor impleaded in such court, or interested in a suit or matter there pending, nor the power of such court to appoint or allow a person, as next friend for a minor, to commence, prosecute or defend a suit in his behalf.
(d) If it appears in a probate or appointment proceeding that a spouse, heir at law or devisee is an incapacitated or protected person or a minor, notice of all proceedings shall be given to the incapacitated or protected person or minor and to his guardian or conservator. Unless the spouse, heir or devisee is under conservatorship or, if not under conservatorship, is under guardianship by someone other than the petitioner or is represented by someone other than the petitioner, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem who shall be provided notice of all 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 II - Intestacy, Wills and Donative Transfers › Section 2-101 - Intestate Estate

Section 2–101. [Intestate Estate.]
(a) Any part of a decedent's estate not effectively disposed of by will passes by intestate succession to the decedent's heirs as prescribed in this part, except as modified by the decedent's will.
(b) A decedent by will may expressly exclude or limit the right of an individual or class to succeed to property of the decedent passing by intestate succession. If that individual or a member of that class survives the decedent, the share of the decedent's intestate estate to which that individual or class would have succeeded passes as if that individual or each member of that class had disclaimed the intestate 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 2-102 - Share of Spouse

Section 2–102. [Share of Spouse.]
The intestate share of a decedent's surviving spouse is:
(1) the entire intestate estate if:
(i) no descendant or parent of the decedent survives the decedent; or
(ii) all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and there is no other descendant of the surviving spouse who survives the decedent;
(2) the first $200,000, plus 3/4 of any balance of the intestate estate, if no descendant of the decedent survives the decedent, but a parent of the decedent survives the decedent;
(3) the first $100,000 plus 1/2 of any balance of the intestate estate, if all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and the surviving spouse has 1 or more surviving descendants who are not descendants of the decedent;
(4) the first $100,000 plus 1/2 of any balance of the intestate estate, if 1 or more of the decedent's surviving descendants are not descendants of the surviving spouse.
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 2-103 - Share of Heirs Other Than Surviving Spouse

Section 2–103. [Share of Heirs Other Than Surviving Spouse.]
Any part of the intestate estate not passing to the decedent's surviving spouse under section 2–102, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes in the following order to the individuals designated below who survive the decedent:
(1) to the decedent's descendants per capita at each generation;
(2) if there is no surviving descendant, to the decedent's parents equally if both survive, or to the surviving parent;
(3) if there is no surviving descendant or parent, to the descendants of the decedent's parents or either of them per capita at each generation;
(4) if there is no surviving descendant, parent, or descendant of a parent, then equally to the decedent's next of kin in equal degree; but if there are 2 or more descendants of deceased ancestors in equal degree claiming through different ancestors, those claiming through the nearest ancestor shall be preferred to those claiming through an ancestor more remote. Degrees of kindred shall be computed according to the rules of civil law.
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 2-105 - No Taker

Section 2–105. [No Taker.]
If there is no taker under the provisions of this article, the intestate estate passes to the commonwealth; provided, however, if such intestate is a veteran who died while a member of a state-operated veterans' home, the intestate estate shall inure to the benefit of the legacy fund or legacy account of the veterans' home of which the intestate was a member.
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 2-106 - Representation

Section 2–106. (a) [Representation.]
In this section:
(1) ''Deceased descendant'', ''deceased parent'', or ''deceased ancestor'', a descendant, parent, or ancestor who predeceased the decedent.
(2) ''Surviving descendant'', a descendant who survived the decedent.
(b) If, under section 2–103(1), a decedent's intestate estate or a part thereof passes ''per capita at each generation'' to the decedent's descendants, the estate or part thereof is divided into as many equal shares as there are (i) surviving descendants in the generation nearest to the decedent that contains 1 or more surviving descendants, and (ii) 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 in the nearest generation and their surviving descendants had predeceased the decedent.
(c) If, under section 2–103(3), a decedent's intestate estate or a part thereof passes ''per capita at each generation'' to the descendants of the decedent's deceased parents or either of them, the estate or part thereof is divided into as many equal shares as there are (i) surviving descendants in the generation nearest the deceased parents or either of them that contains 1 or more surviving descendants, and (ii) 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 in the nearest generation and their surviving descendants had predeceased the decedent.
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 2-107 - Kindred of Half Blood

Section 2–107. [Kindred of Half Blood.]
Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood.
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 2-108 - Afterborn Heirs

Section 2–108. [Afterborn Heirs.]
An individual in gestation at a particular time is treated as living at that time if the individual lives 120 hours or more after birth.
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 2-109 - Advancements

Section 2–109. [Advancements.]
(a) If an individual dies intestate as to all or a portion of the estate, property the decedent gave during the decedent's lifetime to an individual who, at the decedent's death, is an heir is treated as an advancement against the heir's intestate share only if (i) the decedent declared in a contemporaneous writing or the heir acknowledged in writing that the gift is an advancement or (ii) the decedent's contemporaneous writing or the heir's written acknowledgment otherwise indicates that the gift is to be taken into account in computing the division and distribution of the decedent's intestate estate.
(b) If the value of an advancement is expressed in the conveyance, in the contemporaneous writing, or in the acknowledgment, such value shall be adopted in the division and distribution of the intestate estate; otherwise it shall be determined according to the value when the property was given.
(c) Property which is advanced by an intestate shall be considered as part of the intestate's estate in the division and distribution of such estate, and shall be taken by the heir who received the advance toward the heir's share of the intestate estate; but the heir shall not be required to restore any part thereof, although it exceeds the intestate share. A surviving spouse shall be entitled only to a share in the residue after deducting the value of the advancement.
(d) If a child or other lineal descendant of the intestate who has received an advancement dies before the intestate, leaving descendants who receive a share of the intestate's estate, the advancement shall be considered as part of the intestate's estate in the division and distribution of such estate, and the value thereof shall be taken in equal shares by the representatives of the person who received the advancement toward their share of the intestate estate, as if the advancement had been made directly to them.
(e) The probate court in which the estate of a decedent is settled may hear and determine all questions of advancements arising relative to such estate.
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 2-110 - Debts to Decedent

Section 2–110. [Debts to Decedent.]
A debt owed to a decedent is not charged against the intestate share of any individual except the debtor. If the debtor fails to survive the decedent, the debt is not taken into account in computing the intestate share of the debtor's descendants.
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 2-111 - Alienage

Section 2–111. [Alienage.]
No individual is disqualified to take as an heir because the individual or another individual through whom the individual claims is or has been an alien.
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 2-112 - Dower and Curtesy Abolished

Section 2–112. [Dower and Curtesy Abolished.]
The estates of dower and curtesy are abolished.
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 2-113 - Individuals Related to Decedent Through Two Lines

Section 2–113. [Individuals Related to Decedent Through Two Lines.]
An individual who is related to the decedent through 2 lines of relationship is entitled to only a single share based on the relationship that would entitle the individual to the larger 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 2-114 - Parent and Child Relationship

Section 2–114. [Parent and Child Relationship.]
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), for purposes of intestate succession by, through, or from a person, an individual is the child of his natural parents, regardless of their marital status. The parent and child relationship may be established under applicable state law.
(b) An adopted individual is the child of his adopting parent or parents and not of his natural parents, but adoption of a child by the spouse of either natural parent has no effect on the right of the child or a descendant of the child to inherit from or through either natural parent. The court may decree that the rights of succession to property under this section, or under former section 7 of chapter 210, shall vest in an adopted individual as of the date of the filing of the petition for adoption.
(c) No adopted individual shall, by being adopted by any person related by consanguinity to the adopted individual, lose their right to inherit from their natural parents or kindred.
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 2-301 - Entitlement of Spouse; Premarital Will

Section 2–301. [Entitlement of Spouse; Premarital Will.]
(a) If a testator's surviving spouse married the testator after the testator executed a will, the surviving spouse is entitled to receive, as an intestate share, no less than the value of the share of the estate the spouse would have received if the testator had died intestate as to that portion of the testator's estate, if any, that neither is devised to a child of the testator who is born before the testator married the surviving spouse and who is not a child of the surviving spouse nor is devised to a descendant of such a child or passes under section 2–603 or 2–604 to such a child or to a descendant of such a child, unless:
(1) it appears from the will that the will was made in contemplation of the testator's marriage to the surviving spouse;
(2) the will expresses the intention that it is to be effective notwithstanding any subsequent marriage; or
(3) the testator provided for the spouse by transfer outside the will and any intent that the transfer be in lieu of a testamentary provision is shown by the testator's statements or is reasonably inferred from the amount of the transfer or other evidence.
(b) In satisfying the share provided by this section, devises made by the will to the testator's surviving spouse, if any, are applied first, and other devises, other than a devise to a child of the testator who was born before the testator married the surviving spouse and who is not a child of the surviving spouse or a devise or substitute gift under section 2–603 or 2–604 to a descendant of such a child, abate as provided in section 3–902.
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 2-401 - Applicable Law

Section 2–401. [Applicable Law.]
This part applies to the estate of a decedent who dies domiciled in the commonwealth. Rights to exempt property, and discretionary family allowance for a decedent who dies not domiciled in the commonwealth are governed by the law of the decedent's domicile at death.
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 2-403 - Exempt Property

Section 2–403. [Exempt Property.]
(a) The decedent's surviving spouse is entitled from the estate to a value at date of death, not exceeding $10,000 in excess of any security interests therein, in household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances, and personal effects. If there is no surviving spouse, the decedent's children are entitled jointly to the same value. If encumbered chattels are selected and the value in excess of security interests, plus that of other exempt property, is less than $10,000, or if there is not $10,000 worth of exempt property in the estate, the spouse or children are entitled to other assets of the estate, if any, to the extent necessary to make up the $10,000 value. Rights to exempt property and assets needed to make up a deficiency of exempt property have priority over all unsecured claims against the estate, but the right to any assets to make up a deficiency of exempt property abates as necessary to permit earlier payment of the discretionary family allowance. These rights are in addition to any benefit or share passing to the surviving spouse or children by the decedent's will, unless otherwise provided, by intestate succession, or by way of elective share.
(b) The decedent's surviving spouse may remain in the house of the decedent for not more than 6 months next succeeding the date of death without being chargeable for rent.
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 2-404 - Discretionary Family Allowance

Section 2–404. [Discretionary Family Allowance.]
(a) In addition to the right to exempt property, the decedent's surviving spouse and minor children whom the decedent was obligated to support and children who were in fact being supported by the decedent are entitled to a reasonable allowance in money out of the estate for their maintenance during the period of administration, which allowance may not continue for longer than 1 year if the estate is inadequate to discharge allowed claims. This discretionary family allowance may be paid as a lump sum or in periodic installments. It is payable to the surviving spouse, if living, for the use of the surviving spouse and minor and dependent children; otherwise to the children, or persons having their care and custody. If a minor child or dependent child is not living with the surviving spouse, the discretionary family allowance may be made partially to the child or the child's guardian or other person having the child's care and custody, and partially to the spouse, as their needs may appear. The discretionary family allowance is exempt from and has priority over all unsecured claims.
(b) The discretionary family allowance is not chargeable against any benefit or share passing to the surviving spouse or children by the will of the decedent, unless otherwise provided, by intestate succession or by way of elective share. The death of any person entitled to a discretionary family allowance terminates the right to allowances not yet paid.
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 2-405 - Source, Determination, and Documentation

Section 2–405. [Source, Determination, and Documentation.]
If the estate is otherwise sufficient, property specifically devised may not be used to satisfy rights to exempt property. Subject to this restriction, the surviving spouse, guardians of minor children, or children who are adults may select property of the estate as exempt property. The personal representative may make those selections if the surviving spouse, the children, or the guardians of the minor children are unable or fail to do so within a reasonable time or there is no guardian of a minor child. The personal representative may execute an instrument or deed of distribution to establish the ownership of property taken as exempt property. The personal representative may determine the discretionary family allowance in a lump sum not exceeding $18,000 or periodic installments not exceeding $1,500 per month for 1 year, and may disburse funds of the estate in payment of the discretionary family allowance payable in cash. The personal representative or an interested person aggrieved by any selection, determination, payment, proposed payment, or failure to act under this section may petition the court for appropriate relief, which may include a discretionary family allowance other than that which the personal representative determined or could have determined.
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 2-501 - Who May Make Will

Section 2–501. [Who May Make Will.]
An individual 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make 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 2-502 - Execution of Wills

Section 2–502. [Execution of Wills.]
(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.
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 2-505 - Who May Witness

Section 2–505. [Who May Witness.]
(a) An individual generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will.
(b) 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.
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 2-506 - Choice of Law as to Execution

Section 2–506. [Choice of Law as to Execution.]
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.
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 2-507 - Revocation by Writing or by Act

Section 2–507. [Revocation by Writing or by Act.]
(a) A will or any part thereof 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. For purposes of this paragraph, ''revocatory act on the will'' includes burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying the will or any part of it.
(b) If a subsequent will does not expressly revoke a previous will, the execution of the subsequent will wholly revokes the previous will by inconsistency if the testator intended the subsequent will to replace rather than supplement the previous will.
(c) The testator is presumed to have intended a subsequent will to replace rather than supplement a previous will if the subsequent will makes a complete disposition of the testator's estate. If this presumption arises and is not rebutted, the previous will is revoked; only the subsequent will is operative on the testator's death.
(d) The testator is presumed to have intended a subsequent will to supplement rather than replace a previous will if the subsequent will does not make a complete disposition of the testator's estate. If this presumption arises and is not rebutted, the subsequent will revokes the previous will only to the extent the subsequent will is inconsistent with the previous will; each will is fully operative on the testator's death to the extent they are not inconsistent.
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 2-508 - Revocation by Change of Circumstances

Section 2–508. [Revocation by Change of Circumstances.]
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.
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 2-509 - Revival of Revoked Will

Section 2–509. [Revival of Revoked Will.]
(a) If a subsequent will that wholly revoked a previous will is thereafter revoked by a revocatory act under section 2–507(a)(2), the previous will remains revoked unless it is revived. The previous will 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.
(b) If a subsequent will that partly revoked a previous will is thereafter revoked by a revocatory act under section 2–507(a)(2), a revoked part of the previous will is revived unless 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 did not intend the revoked part to take effect as executed.
(c) If a subsequent will that revoked a previous will in whole or in part is thereafter revoked by another, later, will, the previous will remains revoked in whole or in part, unless it or its revoked part is revived. The previous will or its revoked part is revived to the extent it appears from the terms of the later will that the testator intended the previous will to take effect.