Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 184, § 7 (2026)

Creation of estate in common, joint tenancy or tenancy by the entirety

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 7. A conveyance or devise of land to two or more persons or to husband and wife, except a mortgage or a devise or conveyance in trust, shall create an estate in common and not in joint tenancy, unless it is expressed in such conveyance or devise that the grantees or devisees shall take jointly, or as joint tenants, or in joint tenancy, or to them and the survivor of them, or unless it manifestly appears from the tenor of the instrument that it was intended to create an estate in joint tenancy. A devise of land to a person and his spouse shall, if the instrument creating the devise expressly so states, vest in the devisees a tenancy by the entirety.

A conveyance or devise of land to a person and his spouse which expressly states that the grantees or devisees shall take jointly, or as joint tenants, or in joint tenancy, or to them and the survivor of them shall create an estate in joint tenancy and not a tenancy by the entirety. In a conveyance or devise to three or more persons, words creating a joint tenancy shall be construed as applying to all of the grantees, or devisees, regardless of marital status, unless a contrary intent appears from the tenor of the instrument.

A conveyance or devise of land to two persons as tenants by the entirety, who are not married to each other, shall create an estate in joint tenancy and not a tenancy in common.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 40 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1922–2025 · leading case: Darryl F. Bryant, Sr. v. Darryl F. Bryant, Jr., 522 S.W.3d 392 (Tenn. 2017).

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Darryl F. Bryant, Sr. v. Darryl F. Bryant, Jr., 522 S.W.3d 392 (Tenn. 2017). · cites it 2× “§ 2-117 (West 2015); Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 184 § 7 (2014); Minn.”

Goodridge v. Dep't of Pub. Health, 440 Mass. 309 (Mass. 2003). “62C, § 6); tenancy by the entirety (a form of ownership that provides certain protections against creditors and allows for the automatic descent of property to the surviving spouse without probate) (G. L. c. 184, § 7); extension of the benefit of the homestead protection…”

Neylon v. Addario (In Re Addario), 53 B.R. 335 (Bankr. D. Mass. 1985). · cites it 2× “M.G.L. c. 184 § 7. In a conveyance to three or more persons words creating a joint tenancy apply to all grantees, regardless of marital status, “unless a contrary intent appears from the tenor of the instrument.”

Hershman-Tcherepnin v. Tcherepnin, 891 N.E.2d 194 (Mass. 2008). “Those circumstances support the view that the testator intended to give the wife not a disproportionate share of the house, but to give her and each child equal shares of the property.”

Sullivan v. Lawlis, 105 N.E.3d 274 (Mass. App. Ct. 2018). “In the absence of language in a deed specifying otherwise, a conveyance of land to two or more persons creates "an estate in common and not in joint tenancy.”

Lima v. Lima, 570 N.E.2d 158 (Mass. App. Ct. 1991). · cites it 2× “See G.L.c. 184, § 7, both before and after its amendment by St.”

Sutton v. Valois, 846 N.E.2d 1171 (Mass. App. Ct. 2006). “G. L. c. 184, § 7. See Russo v. Russo, 3 Mass.”

Bernatavicius v. Bernatavicius, 52 A.L.R. 886 (Mass. 1927). “G. L. c. 184, § 7. These considerations lead us to the opinion that the operation of a divorce of the parties upon a tenancy by the entirety creates a tenancy in common.”

Richman v. Leiser, 465 N.E.2d 796 (Mass. App. Ct. 1984). “See G. L. c. 184, § 7. 2 There is no dispute with respect to the validity of Leiser’s second mortgage.”

Gourdin v. Agin (In Re Gourdin), 431 B.R. 885 (1st Cir. BAP 2010). “The findings of the probate court state that, "[t]he parties purchased their home ... in 1989.” Under Massachusetts law, a conveyance of land to a husband and wife creates an estate in common unless the deed expressly states otherwise.”

Lobosco v. Donovan, 565 N.E.2d 819 (Mass. App. Ct. 1991). “239, effective August 30, 1979, added to G. L. c. 184, § 7, a paragraph that reads: “A conveyance or devise of land to two persons as tenants by the entirety, who are not married to each other, shall create an estate in joint tenancy and not a tenancy in common.”

Braunstein v. Hajjar (In Re Hajjar), 385 B.R. 482 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2008). “See G.L. c. 184, § 7 (“A conveyance or devise of land to two or more persons .”

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