Mass. Gen. Laws » Part III Title III Chapter 237
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 237, § 3 (2026)

Form of declaration

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 3. The plaintiff shall declare on his own seisin within twenty years then last past, without specifying any particular day, and shall allege a disseisin by the defendant, but need not aver a taking of the profits. He shall set forth the estate which he claims in the land whether in fee simple, fee tail or for life, and if the latter, whether for his own life or for the life of another, but he need not set forth the original gift, devise or other conveyance or title by which he claims the estate.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 1977–1989 · leading case: Seppala & Aho Constr. Co. v. Petersen, 367 N.E.2d 613 (Mass. 1977).
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Seppala & Aho Constr. Co. v. Petersen, 367 N.E.2d 613 (Mass. 1977). “The applicable statutes of limitations regarding foreclosure of mortgages, G. L. c. 237, § 3 (twenty years of adverse possession) , 4 and G.”
Cornwall v. Forger, 538 N.E.2d 45 (Mass. App. Ct. 1989). “Upon a complaint brought under G. L. c. 237, § 3 (writ of entry), the plaintiffs claim title to a strategically located parcel of land, known as Lot 540, in Gay Head on Martha’s Vineyard.”
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