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Older woman at a dining table circling a date on a calendar in red, with house keys and a folder beside her and a California house visible through the window

Trial Preference in a California Partition: Trial Within 120 Days Under CCP 36

A co-owner over 70 can force a partition to trial within 120 days under CCP 36. Here is who qualifies, what the court must find, and how it speeds up a sale.

$Can I sell my half of a jointly owned property in California, co-owner buyout, partition action, selling a fractional share: woman with documents by a "1/2 for sale" sign$

Can I Sell My Half of a Jointly Owned Property in California?

Yes, a California co-owner can sell their half of a jointly owned property without the other owner’s consent, but almost no one buys half a house at full value, so the way to cash out your share for what it is actually worth is a co-owner buyout or a partition action.

Kershman v. Kershman unequal joint tenancy shares, co-owner debts from sale proceeds, California partition case: woman hands a check to a man outside a sold bungalow

Kershman v. Kershman: Unequal Shares Despite a Joint Tenancy Deed

In Kershman v. Kershman, the California Court of Appeal held that co-owners on a joint tenancy deed can own unequal shares if they agreed their shares would follow what each paid, and that a co-owner’s debts come out of his share of the sale proceeds, not his ownership percentage, so he keeps his share of the appreciation.

Demetris v. Demetris mistaken joint tenancy deed, reformed to tenancy in common, California partition case: father points to a deed as his son stands with arms crossed

Demetris v. Demetris: Undoing a Mistaken Joint Tenancy in a Partition

In Demetris v. Demetris, the California Court of Appeal let a father undo a mistaken joint tenancy deed and convert it to a tenancy in common, repaid the extra $1,000 he put toward his son’s share, and held that a loan on the whole house is paid from all the sale proceeds before the co-owners divide it.

Southern Adjustment Bureau v. Nelson co-owner reimbursement, taxes, insurance and mortgage credits, partition sale: woman pushes paid bills toward her brother beside unequal cash

Southern Adjustment Bureau v. Nelson: Calculating a Co-Owner’s Reimbursement in a Partition

In Southern Adjustment Bureau v. Nelson, the California Court of Appeal held that a co-owner who paid taxes, insurance, and loan payments is repaid the full amount from a partition sale before the rest is split, and showed how repaying only half underpays that co-owner.