On Friday, November 6, 2020, Middlesex Probate and Family Court – South will move out of its historic location in East Cambridge to begin new operations in a newly-constructed courthouse in Woburn. Previously, in May 2020, the Court implemented a division of the county and the creation of Middlesex Probate and Family Court – North, moving half of the staff to begin full-time operations in the new Lowell Justice Center.

Middlesex Probate and Family Court – South will be open for business on Monday November 9, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. at 10-U Commerce Way in Woburn. With the Lowell location serving the northern and western cities and towns of Middlesex County, the new Woburn location will continue to serve the same southern communities that it served when operating out of the Cambridge buildings.

As the largest county in the Commonwealth, Middlesex contains 54 cities and towns, spanning over 840 square miles. The creation of two locations was years in the making and designed to better serve the more than 1.6 million residents of Middlesex County in navigating through the complexities of family and probate law. The relocation of Middlesex-South out of the historic building in Cambridge was necessitated by the enormous challenges in maintaining and improving the infrastructure to meet the current needs of the court.

“Our court has been operating out of its East Cambridge building for 120 years, so you can imagine how sentimental some staff and court users have been over these last few weeks,” said First Justice Maureen H. Monks. “Although the move represents the end of an era, we look forward to all of the advantages that the new courthouse will bring.”

Register of Probate Tara E. DeCristofaro added: “The new Woburn courthouse for Middlesex-South will assist our court in providing more user-friendly service and access to justice.” Register of Probate Tara E. DeCristofaro also noted that unlike the site in Cambridge, the Woburn site has ample free parking for staff and court users.

Although both Middlesex Probate and Family Court locations are now at full staffing levels in the Registry and in the Judiciary, most of its work, including court hearings, are being handled through virtual and electronic means.  For more information on the new Woburn location, areas being served by the North and South and how to access each court location for filing and hearings, please see Operating procedure for the Middlesex Division of the Probate and Family Court.