A co-owner in sole possession who paid all the expenses often expects full reimbursement. Under Hunter v. Schultz, the other co-owner can offset the property’s rental value against those claims.
Milian v. De Leon (1986) 181 Cal.App.3d 1185 held that once a partition court finds a true joint tenancy, the co-owners generally share equally without reimbursement for unequal contributions.
One of the most common co-ownership disputes is what happens when one co-owner paid more than their share of the down payment. Here is how a partition action handles it.
A partition in kind physically divides the property so each co-owner receives a portion of the land. Here are the rules that decide when it is allowed.
Code of Civil Procedure section 873.820 sets the order in which the proceeds of a partition sale are applied.
A lien against one co-owner does not have to stop the sale of a co-owned house. Here are five ways to sell a California house when one owner has a lien or judgment.
Code of Civil Procedure section 873.850 lets the partition action continue between the parties to decide how proceeds are allocated when that hasn’t yet been determined.
Code of Civil Procedure section 872.230 lists what a partition complaint must contain, including a description of the property, the plaintiff’s interests, and the other interests the case will affect.
Code of Civil Procedure section 872.620 lets the court determine the state of the title as part of the partition action.
Wallace v. Daley (1990) 220 Cal.App.3d 1028 may be the most cited case in California partition law. It holds that every partition includes an accounting of offsets.
Code of Civil Procedure section 872.140 lets the court in every partition action order an accounting, contribution, and other compensatory adjustments between co-owners according to equity.
A partition action complaint describes the co-owned property, names every owner and lienholder, and asks the court to sell or divide it; here is a free California form with the CCP 872.230 checklist.
When co-owners can’t agree, a California court can force a sale. Before the proceeds are split, the court credits co-owners for mortgage payments, taxes, improvements, and rental value.
Under Evidence Code section 662, the person on the deed is presumed to own the property unless clear and convincing evidence shows the owners agreed otherwise.
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Practical guides from attorneys who focus exclusively on California partition actions.
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