Executions may be deposited by a deputy sheriff or, if authorized by the issuing court, a special officer (such authority should be made part of the execution).
If the land has been attached previously, for the execution to relate back to the date of the attachment, the execution must be levied on within thirty (30) days after the issuance of the execution following the final judgment; a copy of the execution, with the officer's memorandum, must be deposited with the Registry District within forty (40) days after the issuance of the execution. (G.L. c. 223, s. 59 and G.L. c. 236, s. 4)
These periods are sixty (60) days and seventy (70) days respectively (i) for property attached in Nantucket if the judgment entered elsewhere, or (ii) if the judgment is rendered in Nantucket and the property is elsewhere. (G.L. c. 223, s. 59 and G.L. c. 236, s. 4)
To have an attachment removed from a certificate of title where these time limits are exceeded, approval of the Chief Title Examiner is required, and, in his or her discretion, an order of the court may be required to be obtained on petition.
G.L. c. 236, s. 4 provides that an officer having an execution where there was no previous attachment may make a taking of the defendant's land by depositing a copy of the execution at the registry district with a memorandum that the land has been so taken.
All executions on record will expire in six years unless brought forward (as per M.G.L c. 236, s. 49A) or enforced within six years after the deposit. Executions are brought forward in the registry district in the manner, provided for in G.L. c. 223, s. 114A, for bringing forward attachments of real estate.
If it is clear to the District, or upon the request of any interested party, the execution may be then marked discharged or expired. Upon a subsequent conveyance and the issuance of a new certificate, the execution will be dropped. Any doubtful questions will be referred to the Chief Title Examiner.
The Registry District personnel should make certain that the premises described in the execution are the same premises as are covered by the certificate of title; the debtor in the execution must be the holder of the certificate of title or of an interest under said certificate. One cannot execute on property of "A" standing in the name of "B" unless the execution issued by the court which granted the judgment so provides.
A creditor of either husband or wife, whose principal residence is held in a post 1980 tenancy by the entirety (G.L. c. 209, s. 1) may attach, but may not levy on the execution.
A certificate issued by the clerk of the court where the execution issued, marked "satisfied in full," is usually obtained to clear the record title of a cloud created by an unexpired execution.
An execution also may be released by an instrument executed by the deputy sheriff making the seizure or by the execution creditor. The release may not be executed by the creditor's attorney.