Do you own a home or other real estate with someone, but cannot agree on what to do with it? Whether voluntarily purchased jointly (such as an unmarried couple) or passively acquired (such as inherited from the death of a parent), co-owners of real estate (with the exception of spouses) who disagree on the use, division, or sale of real estate can seek resolution of their dispute though a legal partition action.  Since each co-owner has an interest in the entire property, it takes all owners to sell, re-title, or to refinance a home or other real estate.  Filing a partition action becomes necessary when co-owners have exhausted all attempts at cooperation or compromise, or where one co-owner is absent or is placing the property at risk.

What Can the Court Do in a Partition Action?

In a partition action, a co-owner asks the court to force the sale or division of the property and equitably divide the proceeds or parcels among all owners.  Unless the parties can agree to sell the property, the court will appoint a referee to market and sell the property on behalf of the parties, usually at a significant cost. The parties in a partition action may ask the court to make adjustments while distributing the proceeds from the sale among the co-owners, which could be dependent on whether one party’s actions are the basis for bringing the partition action.