When dealing with a probate case in Massachusetts, you have to handle a lot of paperwork. First, there’s the paperwork associated with the estate, including wills, trust documents, and insurance policies. Once you get everything together, however, you aren’t done with the paperwork.

The Massachusetts court system breaks probate forms into a number of categories, including accounting, bond, closing, formal and informal opening, sales of real estate, successor and trust forms. You also have instructional and informative forms that are provided by the court to assist with probate filings.

Accounting forms include inventory, accounting schedules, petition for allowance, order to render and decree of order forms. Bond forms include demand for sureties and petitions to modify bonds. Closing and opening forms include statements, petitions for order, affidavits, certifications, petitions for appointments, and decrees. Real estate forms include various types of sale decrees, successor forms include a number of appointment documents and trust forms include petitions and sales documents.

These lists touch on only a few of the forms provided by the Massachusetts courts. With dozens of forms to choose from and a complex probate process to navigate, it can become easy to get overwhelmed with the process — especially as many people deal with these issues at a time when emotional stress is already high.

The court system does provide minimal guidelines for finding and completing the right forms. Those documents are provided via PDF on the same page as all the other form links are located. However, the instructions don’t provide actual legal advice, so families might want to consider professional assistance with complex probate issues and filings.

Source: Massachusetts Court System, “Probate and Family Court Wills, Estates and Trust Forms,” accessed June 19, 2015