A Small Estate

In Massachusetts, when a person domiciled in the commonwealth dies leaving only personal property, which may include a car the person owned and other personal property not exceeding $25,000 in value, any interested person may, after 30 days from the death and if no petition for a personal representative has been filed, file a sworn statement with the court in the county where the person lived and act as voluntary personal representative.

• G.L. c. 190B, § 3-1201

• The statement lists every known asset with its estimated value, the joint owners, and who would inherit by intestacy or under any will, and the original will is filed with it.
• It is filed with a death certificate and the fee, and the register dockets it and issues an attested copy.
• With that copy and a written receipt, the voluntary personal representative may collect the debts owed to the person and receive the assets scheduled in the statement.
• Copies go to the division of medical assistance by certified mail, which then has 4 months to present a claim where the person received medical assistance as the section describes.

• G.L. c. 190B, § 3-1201

How the voluntary personal representative pays debts and distributes what is left is in the section and is not reproduced in full here. Whether an estate qualifies is a question for the Probate and Family Court and for a licensed Massachusetts attorney.

• G.L. c. 190B, § 3-1201