Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 241, § 31 (2026)

Partition by sale

✓ current as of July 2026

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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 to distribute the proceeds so as to make the partition just and equal. The sale shall be made by public auction, after like notice as is required for the sale of land by an administrator, and the evidence thereof may be perpetuated in like manner by returns filed with the court in which the proceedings are had; or the sale may be a private sale, upon the terms as the court orders, if it finds after notice, as provided in section 8, and a hearing, or after receiving the written assent of all parties in interest, that the interests of all parties will be promoted thereby. If the sale is by auction, section nineteen of chapter two hundred and four shall apply thereto.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 11 cases, 1924–2019 · leading case: Ciani v. MacGrath, 114 N.E.3d 52 (Mass. 2019).

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Ciani v. MacGrath, 114 N.E.3d 52 (Mass. 2019). “" G. L. c. 241, § 31. See Delta Materials Corp .”

Ark Land Co. v. Harper, 599 S.E.2d 754 (W. Va. 2004). · cites it 2× “§ 14-107 (Lexis 2003): Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 241, § 31 (West 1988); Mich.”

Asker v. Asker, 396 N.E.2d 704 (Mass. App. Ct. 1979). “See G. L. c. 241, § 31, and Mello v. Mello, 322 Mass.”

Stylianopoulos v. Stylianopoulos, 455 N.E.2d 477 (Mass. App. Ct. 1983). “…implicitly requires an accounting in that it prays for a division of sale proceeds which is just and equal. See G. L. c. 241, § 31.”

Delta Materials Corp. v. Bagdon, 599 N.E.2d 250 (Mass. App. Ct. 1992). “After three days of trial, the judge determined that the parcels “cannot be divided advantageously” and issued an interlocutory order of sale pursuant to G. L. c. 241, § 31. 3 See G. L. c. 241, § 10.”

Moat v. Ducharme, 555 N.E.2d 897 (Mass. App. Ct. 1990). “The statutory direction of G. L. c. 241, § 31, that partition tie “just and equal” has been interpreted as meaning “just and equitable.”

Delta Materials Corp. v. Bagdon, 796 N.E.2d 434 (Mass. App. Ct. 2003). “In Delta I, a judge of the Probate Court, after trial, determined that the parcels could not be “divided advantageously,” see G. L. c. 241, § 31, and ordered a sale. On appeal, we decided that the judge should not have reached this conclusion until he had first found the fair…”

Chiminiello v. Chiminiello, 397 N.E.2d 1141 (Mass. App. Ct. 1979). “Although the probate judge purported to enter a judgment in the partition case, that proceeding did not result in any order to commissioners pursuant to G. L. c. 241, § 31. Rather the judgment simply concluded that Peter was to “have the right to proceed with his petition for…”

Clough v. Cromwell, 145 N.E. 473 (Mass. 1924). “In G. L. c. 241, § 31, the phraseology was changed but the meaning remains the same.”

Leombruno v. Lowre, 111 N.E.3d 304 (Mass. App. Ct. 2018). · cites it 3× “See G. L. c. 241, § 31 (commissioners may be ordered to sell land "which cannot be divided advantageously").”

Foley v. Dehner, 26 Mass. L. Rptr. 146 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2009). “241, §1; G.L.c. 241, §31. Despite the deferential standard of review, it was unreasonable for the Agency to find that Foley took action “to avoid receiving a resource” because the language of the regulation clearly suggests a different set of circumstances.”

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