General Laws of Massachusetts (Last Updated: January 16, 2020) |
PART II REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS |
TITLE I. TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY |
CHAPTER 185. THE LAND COURT AND REGISTRATION OF TITLE TO LAND |
SECTION 97. Entry of new certificate upon descent or devise; notice; hearing; memorandum of pendency of settlement of estate
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Upon the death of a registered owner, his heirs at law or devisees, after thirty days from the granting of letters testamentary or of administration, or in case of an appeal, at any time after the entry of judgment pursuant to the rescript of the supreme judicial court or appeals court, may file a certified copy of the final decree of the probate court and of the will, if any, with the assistant recorder, and make application for the entry of a new certificate. The court shall issue notice to the executor or administrator and to all other persons in interest, and may also give notice by publication in such newspaper or newspapers as it may consider proper, to all whom it may concern, and, after a hearing, may direct the entry of a new certificate or certificates to the persons entitled as heirs or devisees. Any new certificate so entered before the final settlement of the estate of the deceased owner in the probate court shall state expressly that it is entered by transfer from the last certificate by descent or devise, and that the estate is in process of settlement. After the final settlement of the estate, or after the time allowed for bringing an action against an executor or administrator by creditors of the deceased, the heirs at law or devisees may petition the court for an order to cancel the memorandum upon their certificate, stating that the estate is in course of settlement, and the court, after such notice, if any, as it may order and a hearing, may grant the motion, but the liability of heirs or devisees of registered land for claims against the estate of the deceased shall not in any way be diminished or changed.