otherstate

The Servicemembers Case — a Court Step Massachusetts Puts in Front of a Foreclosure

Massachusetts built its own court procedure so that, before a mortgage foreclosure, a judge decides whether the owner has federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protections. A servicemember named as a defendant gets a Military Attorney appointed by the court, and a judge may stay the case or adjust the mortgage terms.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: A court determination before any foreclosure, a court-appointed Military Attorney, and the chance to ask a judge for a stay or adjusted mortgage terms

The Land Court describes the state procedure as established by Chapter 57 of the Acts of 1943, as amended through Chapter 142 of the Acts of 1998, sitting alongside the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act at 50 U.S.C. §3901 et seq.
Where the protections apply, the court states that a mortgagee cannot foreclose unless the court issues an order allowing it to move forward or the owner agrees in writing.
The court describes the relief a judge may give as delaying the foreclosure — granting a stay — or adjusting the terms of the mortgage, for example by lowering or delaying the required payments or by reducing the interest rate.
No dollar figure is published here. The value is time and a lawyer, and how much either is worth depends on the mortgage.

Who is entitled to it

The protections run to the servicemember who owns the property.
A dependant of a servicemember may claim the protections in their own answer.
You are in active military service, or within 90 days of the end of it.
Your home is in Massachusetts.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

Deadline: By the deadline stated in the court’s citation

1Read the citation rather than the envelope. A Servicemembers case is not a foreclosure and the court will not order your property foreclosed in one — but it is the step where military protections are decided, so it is the wrong document to put aside.
2File an Answer by the deadline in the citation and send a copy to the plaintiff’s lawyer. The court is explicit that an Answer is how the protections are claimed, and that only someone claiming rights under the Act may file one.
3Say in the Answer that you are a servicemember, or that you are a dependant of one. The court appoints a Military Attorney to represent a defendant in the military service, at the court’s instance rather than yours.
4If no Military Attorney has been appointed and you are a servicemember, contact the Land Court Recorder’s Office on 617-788-7470, or write to 3 Pemberton Square, 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02108.
5Check when the mortgage was taken out. The foreclosure protections apply only to a mortgage taken before the period of military service began.
6Be ready to show the effect of service on your ability to pay. The court describes the test as the ability to perform the mortgage obligations being materially affected by military service — generally that income is materially less after service began than in civilian life — while adding that a judge considers the entire impact of military duty.
7A dependant should still file an Answer even where no Military Attorney will be appointed for them. A dependant is a spouse or child, or a person for whom the servicemember provided more than half the support for 180 days before the right is asserted.
8If you hold a servicemember’s power of attorney you can claim their rights in the case. The court treats the holder as the servicemember’s legal representative for this purpose.
9Tell the court promptly if a bankruptcy has been filed. The automatic stay stops the Servicemembers case, and the parties are expected to notify the Land Court so it can issue a stay of its own.

Form: An Answer, filed in the Servicemembers case by the deadline stated in the citation you receive
File with: The Massachusetts Land Court in Boston, or the Superior Court in the county where the property is — the plaintiff chooses which
No renewal: Once granted it does not need renewing.

CorrectionA Servicemembers case is not a foreclosure and the filing of one does not mean a foreclosure will follow. It also does not close off a loan modification or other foreclosure-prevention options — the court says so directly.

CorrectionThe protection only reaches a mortgage taken out before military service began. A mortgage signed after service started is outside it, however hard the deployment made the payments.

Worth knowingWhere a property is wholly owned by a corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership, business trust, general partnership or joint venture, no Servicemembers case is filed at all — so a servicemember who holds a home through an entity does not get this court step.

Known gapChapter 57 of the Acts of 1943, as amended through Chapter 142 of the Acts of 1998, was not read directly: malegislature.gov refused both direct retrieval and browser navigation this session, as it has in prior sessions. Everything here comes from the Land Court’s own account of the procedure it runs.

Sources

authority · published policyMassachusetts Land Court — Frequently asked questions about Servicemembers cases in the Land Court (a Servicemembers case is brought by a mortgage holder before a foreclosure to determine whether anyone with an ownership interest is entitled to protections under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. §3901 et seq.; "Massachusetts has enacted its own state procedure so a court can determine whether or not a defendant is entitled to SCRA protections", found in Chapter 57 of the Acts of 1943 as amended through Chapter 142 of the Acts of 1998; heard in the Land Court in Boston or the Superior Court in the county where the property is, at the plaintiff’s choice; where protections apply a mortgagee cannot foreclose without a court order or the owner’s written agreement, and a judge may grant a stay or adjust mortgage terms including by reducing the interest rate; the court appoints a Military Attorney to represent a defendant in the military service; foreclosure protections extend to 90 days after military service ends and apply only to mortgages taken before service began; rights are claimed by filing an Answer by the citation deadline; a dependant is a spouse or child, or a person supported more than half by the servicemember for 180 days before the right is asserted; a holder of the servicemember’s power of attorney may claim the rights; no Servicemembers case need be filed where the property is wholly owned by a corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership, business trust, general partnership or joint venture; Land Court Recorder’s Office, 617-788-7470, 3 Pemberton Square, 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02108)

Why only one source type: The Land Court is the court that hears these cases and publishes the procedure itself; the underlying 1943 act is not carried on any page reachable this session, and no second administering body exists to corroborate.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.