Knowledge & Resources
Wills and estate planning
What a will does, how to write one, and what your state requires for it to count.
We use privacy-friendly analytics to understand how the Will builder is used. No advertising, no session recording, and never any of your Will content. See our Privacy Policy.
Wills and estate planning
What a will does, how to write one, and what your state requires for it to count.
Massachusetts follows the Uniform Probate Code. Its rule on beneficiaries witnessing is stricter than most, and it catches the witness's spouse too.
A Massachusetts will must be in writing, signed by the testator or in the testator's name by another individual in their conscious presence and at their direction, and signed by at least two individuals who each witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or of the will. Intent that the document is your will can be established by outside evidence, which gives a little room where the paperwork is imperfect. It is not a reason to be casual about the signing.
M.G.L. c. 190B, § 2-502
No. Section 2-502 requires two witnesses, not a notary, and notarizing a Massachusetts will does not replace them. A notary features only in a separate self-proving affidavit.
M.G.L. c. 190B, § 2-502
Anyone generally competent may witness, and a beneficiary doing so does not invalidate the will. The gift, though, is a different matter: a devise to a witness, or to that witness's spouse, is void unless two other subscribing witnesses signed who are not similarly benefited, or unless the interested witness proves the gift was not inserted and the will not signed as a result of their own fraud or undue influence. Massachusetts is one of the few states that reaches the witness's spouse, so a couple witnessing together is a particular trap.
M.G.L. c. 190B, § 2-505
An individual 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will in Massachusetts.
M.G.L. c. 190B, § 2-501
G.L. c. 190B, § 2-502 (Execution of Wills). In writing, signed by the testator (or in their name in their conscious presence and by their direction), and signed by at least two individuals who each witnessed the signing or the acknowledgment.
Links last checked 2026-08-25.
We could not read this statute at its official source, so the summary above is provisional. Confirm it before relying on it.
This is general information about the law, not legal advice, and it has not been reviewed by an attorney licensed in Massachusetts. Requirements change. Confirm the current rules for your state before you sign.
Answer a few plain questions and Legawyl writes the document, with Massachusetts’s signing instructions included. No account needed to start.
Create your free Will