The Supreme Judicial Court issued an informative decision last week concerning the Massachusetts partition process. The full decision, Battle v. Howard, is included below. This case provides a good overview of dividing real estate among property owners and how the more »
Dividing a home becomes necessary when multiple persons or businesses own property together, and one wants out. For married couples, the process of dividing such property generally occurs through a divorce. For non-married persons, such as siblings who own inherited more »
Earlier this month, I was successful in pursuing an adverse possession defense for one of my clients in Land Court. My client, who owned a commercial business with a parking lot, was sued by a nearby occupant, who claimed they more »
Restrictive covenants are private restrictions on land use. The Massachusetts Land Court has introduced a proposed procedure (“standing order”) for addressing restrictive covenants which are void and not enforceable under the law. Restrictive Covenants Restrictive covenants have existed since the more »
Encroachment of property occurs when a structure is on someone else’s land. In Massachusetts, the law allows a property owner to take court action to have such a structure removed. Encroachment of Property: What Can Be Done? Massachusetts law allows more »
The Massachusetts land records consist of all documents related to the ownership of real property in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Compared to many other states, the Massachusetts land records are online, which makes searching them easy. I recommend that every more »
Quiet title is a legal action used to resolved real estate disputes. This action asks a court to issue an order resolving a property issue. This can be highly effective in determining one’s rights in property. Overview of Quiet Title more »
Appealing a zoning board decision is an option available for anyone who has received an unfavorable zoning decision, or who is harmed by someone else’s zoning matter. This blog post does not cover zoning matters in the City of Boston. more »
Land Court issued an interesting decision last week on how to prove adverse possession and whether landscaping activities, alone, are enough to do so. This decision, as of now, is not available online. What is Adverse Possession? Use it, or more »
Massachusetts has a unique forum for handling real estate disputes: Land Court. Land Court is a specialty court which handles a wide array of property issues, including Servicemembers’ Cases, boundary disputes, and other real property matters. Those involved with a more »
