My husband and I have no children together but we have two children each from previous marriage.

Full question:

Hello, My husband and I have no children together but we have two children each from previous marriages. All 4 children are 18 or older. If wife bought house prior to second marriage and owns it solely, what happens if no will exists? Who's entitled to what? In Massachusetts!

• Category: Wills and Estates
• Subcategory: Intestacy
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Massachusetts

Answer:

The Statutes below provide the information you seek about Intestate Law (no Will) in Massachusetts.

Section 2-102. [Share of Spouse.]

The intestate share of a decedent's surviving spouse is:

(1) the entire intestate estate if:

(i) no descendant or parent of the decedent survives the decedent; or

(ii) all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and there is no other descendant of the surviving spouse who survives the decedent;

(2) the first $200,000, plus 3/4 of any balance of the intestate estate, if no descendant of the decedent survives the decedent, but a parent of the decedent survives the decedent;

(3) the first $100,000 plus 1/2 of any balance of the intestate estate, if all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and the surviving spouse has 1 or more surviving descendants who are not descendants of the decedent;

(4) the first $100,000 plus 1/2 of any balance of the intestate estate, if 1 or more of the decedent's surviving descendants are not descendants of the surviving spouse.

 

Section 2-103. [Share of Heirs Other Than Surviving Spouse.]

Any part of the intestate estate not passing to the decedent's surviving spouse under section 2-102, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes in the following order to the individuals designated below who survive the decedent:

(1) to the decedent's descendants per capita at each generation;

(2) if there is no surviving descendant, to the decedent's parents equally if both survive, or to the surviving parent;

(3) if there is no surviving descendant or parent, to the descendants of the decedent's parents or either of them per capita at each generation;

(4) if there is no surviving descendant, parent, or descendant of a parent, then equally to the decedent's next of kin in equal degree; but if there are 2 or more descendants of deceased ancestors in equal degree claiming through different ancestors, those claiming through the nearest ancestor shall be preferred to those claiming through an ancestor more remote. Degrees of kindred shall be computed according to the rules of civil law.