No transfer-on-death deed, and no Lady Bird workaround
Massachusetts has never adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, and it doesn't recognize a Lady Bird deed either. One reason often cited: Massachusetts runs two parallel land recording systems — a registered land (Torrens) system through the Land Court, and an ordinary recorded land system — which complicates any deed-based, record-triggered transfer mechanism. See our full explanation of why Massachusetts has no TOD deed.
Entirety isn't automatic — even for spouses
Under M.G.L. c. 184, § 7, a conveyance to a husband and wife creates a tenancy in common by default — just like any other co-owners — unless the deed expressly states it creates a tenancy by the entirety. See our full breakdown of Massachusetts joint tenancy and entirety rules, including a genuinely strange quirk where certain wording can flip a married couple's deed into a joint tenancy instead.
Bank accounts skip the presumption most states have
Massachusetts adopted the Uniform Probate Code broadly, but specifically didn't adopt the provisions that give most other states an automatic presumption of survivorship for joint bank accounts. Ownership instead turns on proving an actual intent to make a gift, and Massachusetts courts have developed a "convenience account" doctrine to sort out accounts that were never meant to be shared. See our guide to Massachusetts beneficiary and P.O.D. accounts.
Where this feeds into other Massachusetts calculators
The probate-estate total from this tool is the starting point for Massachusetts's probate cost and executor fee calculators, and for checking Massachusetts's small estate procedures. Massachusetts does have a state estate tax on larger estates — see our Massachusetts Estate Tax Calculator for that separate calculation.