Mass. Gen. Laws » Part IV Title I Chapter 265

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 46

Taking from deceased victim's estate prohibited

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Section 46. The court shall prohibit any person charged with the unlawful killing of the decedent from taking from the decedent's estate through its distribution and disposition, including property held between the person charged and the decedent in joint tenancy or by tenancy in the entirety. The court shall consider any person convicted of the unlawful killing of the decedent as predeceasing the decedent for the purpose of distribution and disposition of the decedent's estate including property held between the person charged and the decedent in joint tenancy or by tenancy in the entirety. The bar to succession shall apply only to murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree or manslaughter; it shall not include vehicular homicide or negligent manslaughter in the death of the decedent. No court shall distribute the accused's share of the decedent's assets until a verdict or finding on the charge has been rendered in open court. If the court determines the accused not guilty of the unlawful killing of the decedent, the accused may take by decent or distribution from the decedent's estate under law. The provisions of this section and any order of a court entered pursuant thereto, shall not have any effect on title to real property, except against the person charged with an offense to which this section applies, or that person's heirs and devisees, until a memorandum that recites the name of that person is recorded in the manner provided in section 15 of chapter 184, and no order so entered shall divest any person who has given fair consideration for any interest in such property before such recording.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2012–2025 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Hernandez
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Commonwealth v. Hernandez (2019) mass “190B, § 2-803 ( b ) ("An individual who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent forfeits all benefits under this article with respect to the decedent's estate, including an intestate share, an elective share, an omitted spouse's or child's share, exempt property, and a…”
Commonwealth v. Mortimer (2012) mass · cites it 2× “The defendant contends that the order is in error because in the judge’s calculation of assets available to him, she incorrectly included assets held either jointly with his deceased wife or in trust for one of his deceased children ■— assets that are currently unavailable to…”
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company v. Douglas Hughes, Individually and as Representative of the Estates of Renee True a (2025) mad · cites it 2× “Second, he argues that he is Renee’s sole heir because Ryan killed Renee and is thus precluded from taking from her estate under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 46 . [Id. at 3–4].”
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