Short answer. It vests full ownership in the buyer, free of the co-owners' claims. Rule 69, Section 11 provides that when property is sold and the sale confirmed, the judgment names the purchaser and describes the parcels sold, and its effect is to vest the real estate in the purchaser free from the claims of any party to the action.
What the law says
the judgment shall state definitely, by metes and bounds and adequate description, the particular portion of the real estate assigned to each party
Rule 69, Section 11 — The judgment and its effect; copy to be recorded in registry of deeds. Read the full provision →
What the law says
If the property is sold and the sale confirmed by the court, the judgment shall state the name of the purchaser or purchasers and a definite description of the parcels of real estate sold to each purchaser
Rule 69, Section 11 — The judgment and its effect; copy to be recorded in registry of deeds. Read the full provision →
What the law says
the effect of the judgment shall be to vest the real estate in the purchaser or purchasers making the payment or payments, free from the claims of any of the parties to the action
Rule 69, Section 11 — The judgment and its effect; copy to be recorded in registry of deeds. Read the full provision →
What the law says
A certified copy of the judgment shall in either case be recorded in the registry of deeds of the place in which the real estate is situated
Rule 69, Section 11 — The judgment and its effect; copy to be recorded in registry of deeds. Read the full provision →
Three possible outcomes under Section 11
Rule 69, Section 11 covers three different ways a partition case can end, and it states a distinct effect for each. Where the property is actually divided, the judgment shall state definitely, by metes and bounds and adequate description, the particular portion of the real estate assigned to each party, vesting each party with severalty ownership of their assigned portion. Where the whole property is instead awarded to one party who pays the others, the judgment vests that paying party with the whole property, free of the others' interest. Your situation — a sale — is the third outcome the article addresses.
The sale-and-confirmation outcome, specifically
For a sale, the article specifies exactly what the judgment must contain: if the property is sold and the sale confirmed by the court, the judgment shall state the name of the purchaser or purchasers and a definite description of the parcels of real estate sold to each purchaser. So the judgment itself identifies who bought the property and precisely describes what was sold to each buyer, rather than leaving those details to a separate deed or private agreement between the co-owners and the buyer.
What 'free from the claims of any of the parties' means for the buyer
As to what the buyer actually gets, the article is direct: the effect of the judgment shall be to vest the real estate in the purchaser or purchasers making the payment or payments, free from the claims of any of the parties to the action. This means the judgment itself is what transfers ownership to the buyer, and it does so in a way that clears out any claim the co-owners who were parties to the partition action might otherwise assert against the property — the buyer takes it unencumbered by their interests.
The recording requirement that follows
The article closes with a formality that matters for the buyer's protection: a certified copy of the judgment shall in either case be recorded in the registry of deeds of the place in which the real estate is situated, with the recording expenses taxed as part of the costs of the action. Recording the judgment puts the transfer on the public record, giving the buyer's new, unencumbered title the same kind of protection an ordinary registered deed would provide.