Petition For Partition
When To File A Petition To Partition A Property You Co-own
When two people jointly own a piece of property, they both have a legal interest in it. They have equal rights to possess the whole property, even if their interest in it is a one-half interest or some smaller amount. When a party has been forced out of a property they own by one of the owners, or they simply no longer wish to co-own the property, they have a right to file a petition to partition the property. In addition to being a bit of a tongue-twister, a petition for partition is the main legal device for splitting up a property that is co-owned by two or more properties.
When you co-own a property, sometimes the owners get along fine, and they are able to commence a voluntary partition and work together to negotiate an agreement for the division or disposition of the property. However, in many cases, the parties do not get along, and one party is unresponsive to the other’s demands or requests for partition of the property.
Any co-owner of property has an absolute right to partition. The details of the situation generally do not mitigate the fact that you have a right to partition. When you have been ousted from a property you co-own, you should speak to an attorney about filing a petition to partition with the applicable court in your jurisdiction. This will begin the legal process to split the property or force a sale of the property so that the two parties can share the proceeds.
In some states, there is a designated court that hears property disputes. This is often a land court, although in other states, there are no land courts, and they have general courts that hear a variety of matters. Once you decide that you wish to file a petition for partition, you should contact a real estate partition attorney in your state to inquire about the process for filing the necessary documents. In your petition to partition, you may have to provide certain documentation and facts. You may have to furnish information that documents that you are the owner of record for the property in question. In addition, some states may require that you show that you have made demands on the other party or parties, asking them to enter into negotiations with you about the division or sale of the property.
If you are stuck in a situation where you co-own a house and the other party is refusing to cooperate with the division of the property, you should speak with an attorney to discuss filing a petition to partition the property. The laws in each state vary, and the methods for completing and filing the partition can be different, depending on the jurisdiction the property is located in. An experienced real estate partition lawyer can help you make important decisions regarding your property rights and can file your petition for you.
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