Chapter 241

Section 1. Any person, except a tenant by the entirety, owning a present undivided legal estate in land, not subject to redemption, shall be entitled to have partition in the manner hereinafter provided. If such estate is in fee, he shall be entitled to partition in fee; if a lif…

Section 10. If it is found that the petitioner is entitled to have partition for the share claimed or for any less share, the court shall make the interlocutory decree that partition be made, and therein determine the persons to whom and the proportions in which the shares shall …

Section 11. If the ownership of any share appears to be in dispute or uncertain, the court may, in its discretion, without determination of such question, order the partition to proceed by setting off the remaining shares, or by sale. The land not set off, or the proceeds of the …

Section 12. If the court determines the petitioner entitled to partition, it shall thereupon appoint one or more disinterested commissioners and issue a warrant to them to make partition. The commissioners, before entering upon their duties, shall be sworn to execute the warrant …

Section 13. If the land lies in different counties, the court may in its discretion issue separate warrants and appoint different commissioners for each county, or for two or more counties together, in which case the partition shall be made of the land in each county, or group of…

Section 14. If a part of the land cannot be divided without great inconvenience to the owners, or is of greater value than the share of any party, or if all the land cannot be divided without such inconvenience, the whole or any part thereof may be set off to any one or more of t…

Section 15. If money is awarded to make the partition just and equal, the court shall be satisfied, before the partition is confirmed, that the money has been paid or secured to the parties entitled thereto. Money awarded on account of shares in dispute or uncertain may be ordere…

Section 16. The court may after hearing accept and confirm the return of the commissioners, or set it aside and commit the case anew to the same or to other commissioners having the same powers as those originally appointed; or it may, after a hearing, amend the return, and accep…

Section 17. The court may at any time direct an examination of the title, or the making of a plan, of any land included in the petition, or such investigation relating to the description or title of any of it as seems useful or desirable for its better division or sale. If it app…

Section 18. The partition by division, when confirmed and established by a final decree under section sixteen, or the sale if partition is made by sale, shall be conclusive upon all persons named in the petition or interested in the land therein described who appeared in the case…

Section 19. A person who was not made a party and has not appeared, who claims the whole or any part of the share assigned to or left for any of the supposed co-tenants in the decree for partition, shall be concluded by the decree, so far as it relates to the partition and the as…

Section 2. Probate courts and the land court shall have concurrent jurisdiction of all petitions for partition. Any petition for partition may be filed in the probate court for any county where any part of the land included in the petition lies, or in the land court for any land …

Section 20. A person who was not made a party and has not appeared and who claims part of the land as a co-tenant with any of those who were parties to the action, shall, if the share so claimed was unknown or not allowed and left for him in the process of partition, be concluded…

Section 21. A person who has not appeared and who claims to hold by title paramount to that under which the petitioner claims as a co-tenant shall not be concluded by the partition, but may maintain his action for the land against any or all of the parties, or persons holding und…

Section 22. The reasonable expenses and charges of partition proceedings, including examination of title and preparation of plan ordered by the court under section seventeen, and the fees of counsel, of the commissioners, and of all agents, guardians and other persons appointed t…

Section 23. If the court in which partition proceedings are pending finds that one of the co-tenants has erected any buildings or made other permanent improvements on the common land, it may, if justice and equity so require, award such compensation as it deems proper for the val…

Section 24. If after a first partition improvements have been made on a part of the land which, by a new partition, is taken from the share of the party who made the improvements, he shall be entitled to compensation therefor, to be awarded and enforced as provided in the precedi…

Section 25. The court in which a petition has been brought under this chapter shall have jurisdiction in equity over all matters relating to the partition, and, in case of sale, over the distribution of the proceeds thereof; also to hear and determine all matters of accounting be…

Section 26. If a party named in the petition has died prior to the filing thereof, or dies during its pendency, and such fact did not appear during the proceedings, his heir or devisee shall be entitled to the share of land set off to him or his share of the proceeds of a sale. I…

Section 27. If a person to or for whom a part of the land has been set off is evicted by one who, at the time of the partition, had a paramount title to that parcel, but not to the whole land, the person so evicted may have a new partition of the remaining land not subject to the…

Section 28. A person having a mortgage, attachment or other lien on the share of a co-tenant shall be concluded by the decree, so far as it relates to the partition and the assignment of the shares; but his lien shall remain in full force upon the part assigned to or left for suc…

Section 29. A person holding land under a partition made under this chapter shall, in case of an eviction, be entitled to compensation for improvements made thereon, as provided in chapter two hundred and thirty-seven.

Section 3. If a case is begun in a probate court and the land is within the jurisdiction of the probate court in 2 or more counties, the court in which proceedings are first begun shall retain jurisdiction thereof, which shall exclude the jurisdiction of probate courts of other c…

Section 30. The fact that a cotenant is, alone or jointly with others, as trustee or in any other representative capacity, the holder of the legal title to a share in which he has no beneficial interest shall not prevent partition.

Section 31. In partition proceedings the court may order the commissioners to sell and convey the whole or any part of the land which cannot be divided advantageously, upon such terms and conditions and with such securities for the proceeds of the sale as the court may order, and…

Section 32. If the commissioners, after making a sale in accordance with the preceding section, distribute the proceeds in accordance with the order or decree of the court before learning of any conveyance, mortgage, lien or other encumbrance of or upon the share of any of the jo…

Section 33. Whoever receives any proceeds of a sale of land under this chapter after having sold or mortgaged his interest therein, or with knowledge that it has been attached or liened, without disclosing such fact to the commissioners or the court, shall be punished by a fine o…

Section 34. If the proceeds of a sale, or any share thereof, cannot be paid to the persons entitled thereto, the commissioners shall deposit the same in the name of the judge of probate for the county where the proceedings are had, or, in the case of the land court, the chief jus…

Section 35. If in any share there are estates in succession, the court making partition may, upon petition of any party interested, appoint a trustee to receive, hold, manage and invest the proceeds of the sale of such share. The annual income of such share shall be paid to the o…

Section 36. Joint tenants or tenants in common of a mill privilege, water right, or other incorporeal hereditament may be compelled to divide the same in the manner hereinbefore provided for the division of land. The commissioners appointed to make partition shall set forth in th…

Section 37. Under the preceding section, partition may be made of the water of a natural stream, not navigable, the banks of which are owned by different riparian proprietors.

Section 4. The court may make partition of all or any portion of the land included in the petition of which the parties thereto are co-tenants; but if all of the common land is not included in the petition, the court may, upon request of any party thereto, seasonably filed, cause…

Section 5. The court may set off to the petitioner his share, leaving the residue of the land for the persons entitled thereto, subject to a future partition; or it may set off to the persons entitled to the residue their respective shares therein. If two or more co-tenants conse…

Section 6. The petition shall set forth on oath the nature and extent of the share of each co-tenant, so far as known to the petitioner, stating whether he has an estate of inheritance, for life or for years, whether in possession, remainder or reversion, and whether vested or co…

Section 7. Upon the filing of a petition for partition, the petitioner shall forthwith cause to be filed, in the registry of deeds for each registry district where any of the land included in the petition lies, a notice of the same, containing a brief description of the land in s…

Section 8. Notice shall be given by a citation containing a brief description of the land, and the minimum price in case it is desired to sell the land or any part thereof at private sale. The citation shall be addressed to all known respondents by name, and, in addition, in expr…

Section 9. If any party named in the petition has not been served personally with the citation and has not appeared, or is a minor or under other disability and has no guardian or other legal representative within the commonwealth, or if any person whose name is unknown, or who i…