Fall River Probate Court Records

Fall River probate court records are part of the Bristol County Probate and Family Court system. The court has a Fall River session at 289 Rock Street that handles hearings and gives access to public computers for case lookups. All new filings go to the main registry in Taunton. Fall River is one of three Bristol County locations, along with Taunton and New Bedford. You can search for wills, estate cases, guardianships, and conservatorships online through MassCourts or visit the Rock Street courthouse. Bristol County probate records go back to 1686 and cover 20 cities and towns in the southeastern part of the state.

Fall River Probate Court Location

The Fall River session of the Bristol County Probate and Family Court sits at 289 Rock Street. This location hosts hearings and has public computers for case research. Unlike the Taunton main office, the Fall River session does not accept new filings at its counter. All petitions, motions, and new papers must go to Taunton at 40 Broadway, Suite 240. You can also file electronically through eFileMA.

SRTA bus service reaches the Rock Street courthouse. Call (508) 999-5211 for routes and schedules. Metered street parking and paid garages are nearby. The Fall River session is open five days a week, which gives it an edge over the New Bedford session that closes on Wednesdays. Register Thomas C. Hoye, Jr. oversees all three Bristol County court locations from the Taunton main office.

The Bristol County Probate website has forms, filing instructions, and contact details for all three locations. The Taunton office is the one-stop shop for new filings, but Fall River works well for hearing attendance and checking records on the public terminals.

How to Search Fall River Probate Records

The MassCourts portal lets you search Fall River probate court records for free. Select "Probate & Family Court" and choose the Bristol division. Search by name or docket number. Results include party names, case type, filing dates, docket entries, and scheduled court dates. Cases from 2009 forward may have document images you can view online. Older cases show docket info only.

At the Fall River courthouse, public computers are available for searching case records during business hours. This is a useful option if you do not have internet access at home or prefer to search in a courthouse setting. Staff can help point you in the right direction, though they cannot give legal advice. Bring a photo ID because security checks visitors at the entrance.

Bristol County has detailed file review policies. Same-day access covers up to 3 files without an appointment. For bigger research projects, you can request up to 12 files by emailing bristolprobate@jud.state.ma.us by 3:00 PM. The files will be pulled and ready by 8:30 AM the next day. Title examiners should use the virtual registry when possible and limit in-person visits to 30-minute blocks with a maximum of 10 files. The file review policy page explains all of this in detail.

The virtual registry is available on Zoom at meeting ID 1612606196 or by phone at 1-646-828-7666. Hours are 9:00 AM to noon and 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday. The virtual registry page has connection info.

The screenshot above shows the Fall River Probate Court page on mass.gov. It lists hours, contact details, and services available at the Rock Street location.

Probate Court Filings in Fall River

Fall River residents file probate cases under M.G.L. c. 190B, the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code. Remember, you cannot file at the Rock Street courthouse. Go to Taunton or use eFileMA. The Taunton office at 40 Broadway handles all new cases for Bristol County.

Informal probate is the most common filing type. Under Section 3-102, the Register reviews the petition without a hearing. You submit form MPC 150 with a $375 filing fee and $15 surcharge, totaling $390. Formal probate before a judge costs $405 with the citation fee included. Smaller estates may qualify for voluntary administration at just $115 total. Guardianship of a minor costs nothing to file. Guardianship of an incapacitated person runs $255, and conservatorship is the same.

Account filing fees scale with estate value. Estates under $25,000 owe nothing. Estates between $25,001 and $100,000 pay $100. The fees climb from there up to $3,500 for estates over $10 million. See the full schedule at mass.gov. Low-income filers can ask for a waiver by filing an Affidavit of Indigency.

Fall River Probate Record Copies

To get copies of probate records, fill out the PFC 18 form. List "Bristol" as the court division, include your docket number, and state exactly which documents you need. Mail the form with payment to the Taunton registry. All checks go to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. By mail, only attorney's checks, money orders, or bank certified checks are accepted.

Plain copies are $1.00 per page. Attested copies cost $2.50 per page. A certified copy of a guardianship decree is $22.00. A conservatorship decree costs $21.00. Exemplified copies, which are sometimes needed for out-of-state use, cost $50 plus $1 per extra page. In person at the Taunton office, you can pay with cash or credit cards too. The mass.gov copy request page has the full details.

Bristol County probate records date to 1686. Historical files through 1880 are available online through AmericanAncestors and FamilySearch. The collection holds 21,143 cases with over 416,600 file papers from 1761 to 1900. Published abstracts by H.L. Peter Rounds cover the period from 1687 to 1762. The historic records guide on mass.gov lists what is available for each county. Under M.G.L. c. 215, Section 1, the Probate Court holds exclusive jurisdiction over estate and guardianship matters.

Legal Help for Fall River Probate Cases

Court forms are free at mass.gov. The Bristol County Probate website also posts forms and local instructions. The Trial Court help line at 1-833-912-6878 answers basic procedural questions. They can tell you which forms to use and how to file, but they do not give legal advice.

The Massachusetts Bar Association lawyer referral line is (617) 654-0400. A first consultation costs $25 for 30 minutes. Their Dial-A-Lawyer program offers free phone advice on the first Wednesday of every month. For Fall River residents who need ongoing help with a probate case, the referral service can match you with an attorney who handles estate, guardianship, or conservatorship matters in Bristol County. The docket search guide on mass.gov is also worth reading if you plan to track a case online through MassCourts.

Bristol County Probate Court Records

Fall River is in Bristol County. The Bristol County Probate and Family Court runs three locations in Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford. For the complete county guide with filing procedures, archive policies, and all contact info, visit the Bristol County page.

View Bristol County Probate Court Records

Nearby Cities

Other cities near Fall River with probate court access:

New Bedford • Taunton