Connecticut Partition Law
How To File For A Partition Of Real Estate In Connecticut
When two parties own property jointly, they have the option to separate their interests in the property through a partition action. All concurrent owners have a right to partition the property if they no longer wish to reside with the other co-owners or no longer wish to own the property. In many situations, the parties are able to commence a voluntary partition by agreeing to the means of separation of the property and executing a contractual agreement as to the same. However, if they are unable to reach a private agreement about the disposition of the property, then the party that wishes to partition must file a legal action to force a division of the property.
There are two main ways of partitioning property in Connecticut: either partitions in kind or partitions by sale. A partition in kind physically carves out separate pieces of the property for each of the owners. A partition by sale forces the home or land to be sold at auction, and then the owners can divide the proceeds. Connecticut has two types of concurrent ownership tenancies, joint tenants and tenants in common. A joint tenants partition action in Connecticut requires that the partition of the property gives equal shares to each party, either in the form of physical land or in the form of monies from the sale. Tenants in common, however, will receive a portion from a partition that is in keeping with their percentage of original ownership of the premises.
Connecticut is a lien theory state, which means that mortgagors and lenders do not hold title to a property, but rather are treated as if they hold a lien against the property. When a property is sold at auction in a partition sale, the lienholders must be satisfied before the parties can take any of the proceeds.
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