Governor Charlie Baker signed Massachusetts Bar Association-backed legislation into law on Jan. 5, which corrects a procedural omission from the Massachusetts Probate Code (MPC). This law will allow a court action to proceed against a decedent's estate whether or not a personal representative is appointed under the MPC.
A 1993 amendment to G.L. c. 197 §9a, proposed by the MBA, added a second paragraph to the section allowing a claim to be pursued against a decedent's estate whether or not an executor or administrator was appointed. When the MPC was enacted, this portion of the statute was omitted, creating a problem for uninjured parties to proceed in a tort action against the decedent within the three year statute of limitations.
The full text of the law is available here.