No. California does not require an individual who co-owns real estate to hire a lawyer to file or defend a partition action. But a limited liability company or a corporation that co-owns property must hire a lawyer, and so must anyone who is acting for someone else, such as an executor, a trustee, or an agent under a power of attorney. This guide explains who can go without a lawyer, who cannot, and what a court expects from an owner who goes it alone.
Can You Represent Yourself in a Partition Action?
Yes, if you own the property in your own name. A person who represents himself or herself in court appears “in propria persona,” a Latin phrase that lawyers and courts shorten to “pro per.” California lets you speak for your own interest in court, but not for anyone else’s unless you are an active member of the State Bar (Hansen v. Hansen (2003) 114 Cal.App.4th 618, 621). Business and Professions Code section 6125 says the same thing: no one may practice law in California unless he or she is an active licensee of the State Bar.
Code of Civil Procedure section 872.210 lets a co-owner of real property bring a partition action, and the partition statutes do not require that co-owner to hire a lawyer.
The limit is that you can speak only for your own share. If you and two siblings co-own a house, you cannot represent them in court. Each sibling must either represent himself or herself or hire a lawyer.
When a Lawyer Is Required in a Partition Action
The rule against representing other people reaches further than most co-owners expect. You must hire a lawyer in these situations:
- A limited liability company or a corporation owns the property. A corporation cannot appear in court on its own or through an officer who is not a lawyer (Merco Constr. Engineers, Inc. v. Municipal Court (1978) 21 Cal.3d 724, 729). A limited liability company that co-owns property must hire a lawyer in the same way.
- An executor or personal representative acts for an estate. A nonlawyer personal representative could not prosecute a civil action for the estate in propria persona, and the Court of Appeal sent the case back with directions to strike the complaint (Hansen v. Hansen (2003) 114 Cal.App.4th 618, 621). In a case about a home the estate co-owned, the Court of Appeal held that an executor’s partition petition was a claim for the benefit of the estate’s beneficiaries and could not be prosecuted without a lawyer, and it dismissed her appeal (Estate of Sanchez (2023) 95 Cal.App.5th 331, 339). See Probate Code section 9823 for the personal representative’s power to bring a partition action.
- A trustee acts for a trust. A trust is not a person, and a trustee who litigates for the trust is representing the beneficiaries’ interests, so a nonlawyer trustee must hire a lawyer (Ziegler v. Nickel (1998) 64 Cal.App.4th 545, 548). That matters for any co-owned house that was put into a trust.
- You act for another owner. A relative or friend who is not a lawyer cannot appear for you, and an agent under a power of attorney does not become your lawyer by virtue of the power of attorney (Ziegler v. Nickel (1998) 64 Cal.App.4th 545, 548).
Inherited houses trip up many families, because the owner on paper is often an estate or a trust. See our guide to inherited property for how those cases work.
Going without a lawyer when one is required does not save time. The courts in those cases sent the case back to strike the complaint, dismissed an appeal, or ordered a trustee to withdraw and gave him 30 days to hire a lawyer. The case then started over, with the delay and the cost already spent.
What a Court Expects From an Owner Who Represents Himself or Herself
A court holds a self-represented owner to the same rules and deadlines as a lawyer. In a partition action, that means doing every step correctly:
- Order a title report (Code of Civil Procedure section 872.220) and file a complaint with the contents required by section 872.230.
- Record a lis pendens, a public notice that the property is part of a lawsuit (section 872.250), and serve every co-owner and lender with an interest in title.
- Prove each owner’s share so the court can enter an interlocutory judgment (section 872.720).
- Work with the partition referee the court appoints to sell the property (section 873.010).
- Where the Partition of Real Property Act applies, meet the buyout deadlines: a co-owner who did not ask for a sale has 45 days to elect to buy out the owners who did (section 874.317).
- Prove every credit in the accounting that decides who receives what from the sale (section 872.140).
Our guides to filing a partition action and to the partition complaint form show what the paperwork looks like.
Why Most Co-Owners Hire a Partition Lawyer Anyway
A partition action combines title work, court procedure, a court-supervised sale, and an accounting. A lender who was never served, a missed buyout deadline, or a credit left out of the final accounting can cost far more than a lawyer would have. A partition lawyer handles those steps every week, and a co-owner who is fighting the case will usually have one.
The cost is also shared. The costs of partition include reasonable attorney’s fees incurred for the common benefit (Code of Civil Procedure section 874.010), and the court can spread those costs among the owners (section 874.040). Read about the cost of a partition action, who pays for a partition action, and attorney’s fees in a partition action to see how that works.
If you decide to hire one, see how to find the right partition attorney.
What If You Are the One Who Was Sued?
A defendant who owns the property individually may also respond without a lawyer, but the summons sets a short deadline and a missed deadline can cost you the chance to respond. A partition action is hard to stop, yet a defendant has real choices, including a buyout instead of a sale, an argument for dividing the property, and claims for credits. Start with what to do when your co-owner filed a partition action against you, and read about the defenses to a partition action and a co-owner buyout.
Questions About Hiring a Partition Lawyer
Can I file a partition action without a lawyer?
Yes, if you own the property individually. If a company, an estate, or a trust owns your share, you must hire a lawyer.
Can I represent a family member who co-owns the property?
No. A person who is not a lawyer may represent only his or her own interest. A family member cannot speak for you in court, and you cannot speak for a family member.
Can a limited liability company represent itself in a partition action?
No. A limited liability company must hire a lawyer to appear in court, as a corporation must.
Talkov Law’s Partition Attorneys Can Help
Whether you are the owner who wants out or the owner who was sued, a short conversation with a partition attorney tells you where you stand before a deadline passes.
Talkov Law can help. With 12 full-time partition attorneys and experience in over 650 partition actions throughout California, our team handles every step of the process, from filing through the referee’s sale and the final distribution of proceeds. Call (877) PARTITION (727-8484) today or contact us online to get started.
