Quite often, real estate is jointly owned by more than one party. When those parties can’t agree on how to manage that property, that can create significant conflicts. Sometimes, the only way out of the situation is to ask a court to make some decisions through a partition action.
Essentially, a partition lawsuit is brought by one of the property’s joint owners against the others. This kind of lawsuit is often filed when:
- Siblings inherit some family real estate and can’t get along
- An unmarried couple have property together and they split up
- A business partnership falls apart and the company’s property needs to be divided
Once the partition action has been filed, the court has to decide what happens next to that property. It’s possible that some large pieces of real estate will be divided up among the owners so that each can handle their share as they see fit. For example, if two siblings inherit a large family farm, the court could decide that it’s best to simply divide the land between them.
Typically, however, the real estate will end up being sold. If one party wants to keep the property and the other wants to sell, the judge may allow the party who wants to keep the real estate to “buy out” the other party’s interest at a fair price. In most cases, the property will be sold to a third party and the judge will decide who gets what share of the proceeds after the taxes, liens and other bills are paid.
If you own a piece of real estate jointly with another party and your attempts to get the other party to make a reasonable agreement about what to do with it have failed, it may be time to get some help. A real estate attorney here in Naples can provide invaluable guidance.