Bank accounts after a death in Massachusetts

Money in a joint account with a surviving owner belongs to that person and is not part of the probate estate. For an account in the person's name alone, a voluntary personal representative (if the estate qualifies) or a court-appointed personal representative collects it.

Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.

Bank accounts after a death in Massachusetts

Money in a joint account with a surviving owner belongs to that person and is not part of the probate estate. For an account in the person's name alone, a voluntary personal representative (if the estate qualifies) or a court-appointed personal representative collects it. The bank must be shown the attested copy of the Voluntary Administration Statement, a written receipt and the passbook or other evidence of the account; a bank that pays on it is released from liability.

Law: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, secs. 3-1201, 3-1202

Source: Official page

Do bank accounts count toward the small estate limit?

Kind of propertyHow it is treatedDetails
Bank accounts in the person's name alone
Counts

Bank accounts in the person's name alone count.

Law: G.L. c. 190B, sec. 3-1201; MPC 961 (probate estate)

Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts
Left out

Accounts held jointly with a surviving owner are not part of the probate estate and are not counted.

Law: MPC 961 (probate estate = property in the person's name alone)

What the bank or holder must do

A bank or other holder that pays or delivers property on the attested copy of the statement is released from liability as if it had dealt with a court-appointed personal representative, and does not have to check the truth of the statement, unless an appointed personal representative had already made a written demand on it. If the holder refuses, the people entitled to the property can bring a court proceeding to recover it.

FDIC insurance after a death

After a deposit owner dies, FDIC insurance on the account stays the same for six months, unless the account is restructured. After six months, coverage is based on who actually owns the money.

Law: 12 CFR 330.3(j)

Death certificates in Massachusetts

A certified copy of the death certificate must be filed with a voluntary administration. You can get it from the town or city hall where the person lived at death or from the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics. The Registry's recorded fee line is (617) 740-2600.

Law: MPC 961 Instructions

Where to get it
Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (Department of Public Health), or the clerk of the city or town where the person lived or died
Official page
Official page

Surviving spouse in Massachusetts

A married Massachusetts resident's passenger car or motorcycle passes to the surviving spouse by law, unless the will says otherwise, and the spouse retitles it with the RMV's Affidavit of Surviving Spouse with the title fee waived. There is no separate, higher voluntary administration limit for a spouse. If there is no will, the spouse's share depends on the children and parents (see intestacy).

Voluntary Administration (Voluntary Administration Statement, form MPC 170)

You file a sworn statement listing everything the person owned with the county Probate and Family Court. The court gives you an attested copy, which you show to banks and others to collect the property.

Limit

Up to $25,000

The person's estate must be made up only of personal property, worth $25,000 or less, not counting the value of a car. The court says this limit applies regardless of the date of death.

What counts

The estate must be entirely personal property. Add up the value of the person's personal property in their name alone, not counting one motor vehicle. Property that passes by joint ownership, beneficiary designation or trust is not part of the probate estate. If the person owned any Massachusetts real estate in their name alone, voluntary administration cannot be used.

Waiting period

At least 30 days must have passed since the death, and no petition to appoint a personal representative can have been filed.

Who can use it

Any 'interested person' (for example a surviving spouse, child, other heir or a person named in the will). A creditor does not count as an interested person for this purpose. The filer does not have to live in Massachusetts. Parents cannot file for a minor child without court permission. If the person was receiving services from the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Developmental Services or MassHealth, a person those agencies designate may file. More than one interested person may file together as co-voluntary personal representatives.

Court or where to file

Probate and Family Court in the county where the person lived at death (by eFiling, mail or in person).

Notary

The statement is verified by oath or affirmation (signed under the penalties of perjury).

Papers to attach
  • Voluntary Administration Statement (MPC 170), listing every known asset and its estimated value, surviving joint owners, heirs and will beneficiaries
  • Certified copy of the death certificate
  • The original will, if there is one
  • Affidavit as to Cause of Death (MPC 475), if the death certificate lists the cause as 'homicide' or 'pending'
  • Affidavit of Domicile (MPC 485), if the person's address is wrong on the death certificate
  • Certification on the statement that copies of the statement and death certificate were sent by certified mail to the MassHealth Estate Recovery Unit
Steps
  1. Wait at least 30 days after the death.
  2. Fill in the Voluntary Administration Statement (MPC 170), listing every asset and its value.
  3. Send a copy of the statement and the death certificate by certified mail to the MassHealth Estate Recovery Unit, P.O. Box 15205, Worcester, MA 01615-0205.
  4. File the statement, a certified death certificate and any original will with the Probate and Family Court in the county where the person lived, and pay the $115 fee.
  5. Get the attested copy of the statement from the Register of Probate.
  6. Show the attested copy, a written receipt and the passbook, policy or other evidence of the asset to each holder to collect it.
  7. Pay funeral, last-illness and administration expenses first, then debts in the order set by law, then distribute what is left to the heirs or will beneficiaries.
Fee

$115: a $100 filing fee for the statement plus a $15 surcharge to assign a docket number. This includes one attested copy of the statement; more attested copies of the statement cost $20 each.

Debts and responsibility

A voluntary personal representative is liable as a personal representative 'in his own wrong' to anyone harmed by how they handle the estate, and must account to any personal representative appointed later. Anyone who receives property this way must account for it to an appointed personal representative or anyone with a better right to it. The voluntary personal representative may not charge a fee.

What the bank or holder must do

A bank or other holder that pays or delivers property on the attested copy of the statement is released from liability as if it had dealt with a court-appointed personal representative, and does not have to check the truth of the statement, unless an appointed personal representative had already made a written demand on it. If the holder refuses, the people entitled to the property can bring a court proceeding to recover it.

Law: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, secs. 3-1201, 3-1202

Source: Official page

Good to know in Massachusetts

  • The $25,000 voluntary administration limit leaves out one motor vehicle, and the court says it applies regardless of the date of death (G.L. c. 190B, sec. 3-1201; MPC 961).
  • A voluntary personal representative is not appointed by a judge and gets no letters of authority; their powers are limited to what sec. 3-1201 allows.
  • For deaths on or after August 1, 2024, the Long-Term Care Act (St. 2024, c. 197) narrowed MassHealth estate recovery to what federal law requires (MassHealth EOM 25-09).

Changes in 2024–2026

St. 2024, c. 197 (Act to Improve Quality and Oversight of Long-Term Care, signed September 6, 2024): for MassHealth members who died on or after August 1, 2024, estate recovery is limited to what federal law requires (long-term services and supports at 55+, and institutional care at any age); MassHealth applied the policy from May 27, 2025 (EOM 25-09). No change to the $25,000 voluntary administration limit was found.

Letters to a bank

Use the free tools below to ask a bank for the balance on the date of death or to present a signed small estate affidavit.

Related pages

Free help in Massachusetts

A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.