Section 97. Upon the death of a registered owner, his heirs at law or devisees, after thirty days from the granting of letters testamentary or of administration, or in case of an appeal, at any time after the entry of judgment pursuant to the rescript of the supreme judicial court or appeals court, may file a certified copy of the final decree of the probate court and of the will, if any, with the assistant recorder, and make application for the entry of a new certificate. The court shall issue notice to the executor or administrator and to all other persons in interest, and may also give notice by publication in such newspaper or newspapers as it may consider proper, to all whom it may concern, and, after a hearing, may direct the entry of a new certificate or certificates to the persons entitled as heirs or devisees. Any new certificate so entered before the final settlement of the estate of the deceased owner in the probate court shall state expressly that it is entered by transfer from the last certificate by descent or devise, and that the estate is in process of settlement. After the final settlement of the estate, or after the time allowed for bringing an action against an executor or administrator by creditors of the deceased, the heirs at law or devisees may petition the court for an order to cancel the memorandum upon their certificate, stating that the estate is in course of settlement, and the court, after such notice, if any, as it may order and a hearing, may grant the motion, but the liability of heirs or devisees of registered land for claims against the estate of the deceased shall not in any way be diminished or changed.

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Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 185 sec. 97

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Devise: To gift property by will.
  • Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.