Arkansas Partition Law
How To File An Arkansas Partition Action To Divide Your Property
When two or more people own a piece of property in Arkansas, and they no longer wish to co-own it together, they are able to file what is known as a partition action. An Arkansas partition action will effectively end the co-ownership between the two parties. If the parties cannot come to an agreement in order to file a voluntary partition where they contractually agree as to the method of partition, then a court will order a partition by judicial action. The commencement of a judicial partition in Arkansas first requires that one of the owners file an Arkansas real estate partition form with the applicable court.
There are two major types of partitions in the state of Arkansas. The first kind is a partition in kind, which physically divides the property between the two owners. The second kind of partition is a partition by sale, where the home or land is sold at auction and the parties are allowed to split the proceeds depending on the type of tenancy they held. Arkansas has three major types of tenancy: tenants in common, joint tenants, and tenants by the entirety. Tenants in common can have any percentage breakdown ownership of the property, but joint tenants always take property in equal shares. This means that a partition of land held by joint tenants must be divided in equal shares. Tenants by the entirety, however, is a tenancy that is generally reserved for married couples only. When tenants by the entirety seek to partition land, it is generally within the purview of the family courts as it is part of a divorce.
Arkansas is a title theory state, which means that any lender or mortgagor is a necessary party to the partition action because they hold title to the property through a deed of trust. If you need to partition a property that you own in Arkansas, you should speak to a real estate attorney as soon as possible.