In our Woodman & Eaton spring newsletter, we mentioned that the Massachusetts legislature enacted a new Uniform Probate Code effective as of March 31, 2012 (the “Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code” or “MUPC”). We have studied and evaluated the law to determine what changes should be made to our estate planning documents and have incorporated those change as necessary.
The good news is that previously signed documents prepared by Woodman & Eaton are still valid with respect to the MUPC, but we recommend that over the course of time these documents be updated to incorporate the new provisions. In our spring newsletter we also mentioned that the MUPC changed the estate probate process. These changes, while very broad, are mostly administrative in nature and have no effect on estate planning documents. They do change the intestate succession laws (for those who do not have a will in place at death) and are a warning to be sure that a will and other estate planning documents are in place.
