As estate planning attorneys, a question that often arises with new and prospective clients is, “What happens if I die without a will?” The short answer is this: if you die without a valid will in Massachusetts, state law will create one for you. When a person dies without a will, they are said to have died “intestate.”
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 190B, Article II, Section 2-102 outlines who among your family will inherit your probate property if you die intestate. A handy reference chart, summarizing the statute, can be found below.
If you die intestate, you effectively give up the right to decide what happens to your estate assets. You also give up the right to decide who oversees the probate as Personal Representative (formerly known as Executor) of your estate. If these decisions matter to you, the only way to ensure that you get to make them is to make sure you do not die intestate.
