If you helped with the down payment and are on title, you are a co-owner under California law. A partition action can recover your money and end your exposure when the arrangement breaks down.
When a relative moves into an inherited house, refuses to sell, and stops paying expenses, the other heirs are left covering the costs. A California partition action can force a sale.
After a partition sale, proceeds are divided by each co-owner’s ownership share, adjusted for reimbursements and credits. Here is how California courts handle the distribution.
A co-owner who paid more than their share for the down payment, mortgage, repairs, or taxes can seek reimbursement in a partition. Here is the evidence the referee needs to calculate offsets.
In California, past consideration cannot support an enforceable contract. That matters in partition cases when a co-owner tries to recast a past gift as a loan, a common issue in family and ex-partner disputes.
No. Having both names on the deed does not mean your ex automatically gets half. In a California partition action, the co-owner who paid more is generally repaid first, with one major exception.
When one co-owner’s family gives money toward the down payment, it can become a major dispute in a partition action. Here is how courts treat down payment gifts.
Partition accounting tracks costs, contributions, and reimbursements. One common mistake, double counting, can make the final judgment unfair if no one catches it.
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.
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