Massachusetts General Laws
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 215, § 2 (2026)
Superior jurisdiction; presumption
✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 2. Probate courts shall be courts of superior and general jurisdiction with reference to all cases and matters in which they have jurisdiction, and no order, judgment, decree, sentence, warrant, writ or process made, issued or pronounced by them need set out any adjudication or circumstances with greater particularity than would be required in other courts of superior and general jurisdiction, and the like presumption shall be made in favor of proceedings of the probate courts as would be made in favor of proceedings of other courts of superior and general jurisdiction.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 13
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1924–2023 · leading case: In the Matter of Moe, 432 N.E.2d 712 (Mass. 1982).
In the Matter of Moe, 432 N.E.2d 712 (Mass. 1982). “G.L.c. 215, §§ 2, 3, 6. Saikewicz, supra at 755-756 .”
Superintendent of Belchertown State Sch. v. Saikewicz, 370 N.E.2d 417 (Mass. 1977). “G. L. c. 215, § 2. Wilder v. Orcutt, 257 Mass.”
Bower v. Bournay-Bower, 15 N.E.3d 745 (Mass. 2014). “” G. L. c. 215, § 2. Specifically, the Legislature has granted probate courts jurisdiction over, among other areas, the appointment of guardians and conservators, along with exclusive original jurisdiction over actions for divorce and actions related to the care, custody,…”
Guardianship of Bassett, 385 N.E.2d 1024 (Mass. App. Ct. 1979). “400, § 55, provides in pertinent part that "[p]robate courts shall have original and concurrent jurisdiction with the supreme judicial and superior courts of all cases and matters of equity cognizable under the general principles of equity jurisprudence____Probate courts shall…”
Farquhar v. New England Trust Co., 158 N.E. 836 (Mass. 1927). “The probate courts of this Commonwealth are courts of superior and general jurisdiction.”
Guardianship of Anthony, 524 N.E.2d 1361 (Mass. 1988). “The judge, in effect and incorrectly, usurped the function of the executive branch of the State government.”
Munroe v. McGee, 478 F. Supp. 2d 110 (D. Mass. 2007). “1990) (“underlying our federal system is a presumption that the state courts are as capable as their federal counterparts of guaranteeing federal rights”); Mass. Gen. Laws c. 215 §§ 2 and 3. Finally, there has been no argument or showing of harassment or any other reason why…”
Ross v. Friedman, 495 N.E.2d 321 (Mass. App. Ct. 1986). “This, the defendants contend, shows that the parties acted on a mutual mistake as to the value of the land, relying on the precompromise agreement offer to purchase for $60,000.”
Buzzell v. Schulz, 173 N.E. 514 (Mass. 1930). “G. L. c. 215, § 2, constitutes the Probate Court a court of superior and general jurisdiction with reference to all cases and matters in which it has jurisdiction.”
Hutchinson v. Blanchard, 142 N.E. 47 (Mass. 1924). “162, § 2; G. L. c. 215, § 2, and its decrees cannot be attacked collaterally.”
Ott v. Hogan, 254 Mass. 491 (Mass. 1926). “G. L. c. 215, § 2. The final decree of that court of February 6, 1925, affirming its earlier decree, was within its jurisdiction.”
Wilder v. Orcutt, 153 N.E. 332 (Mass. 1926). “The plaintiff prays that his debt be established; that the value of the defendant Orcutt’s interest in the estate of William Orcutt, retained by Perry, be-determined; that she be ordered to pay this amount so determined to be applied to the payment of the defendant Orcutt’s debt…”
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