In Capuccio v. Caire (1922), the California Supreme Court held that co-owners who moved property into a revived company without a co-owner’s consent could not defeat her partition. The company at most stepped into their shoes as a co-owner.
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.
In Martin v. Walker, the California Supreme Court held that a co-owner who never lived on the property, and whose co-owner held all of it and denied their title, could still sue for partition. The court decides who owns what in the same case.
In Preciado v. Wilde, the California Court of Appeal held that a co-owner cannot take a relative’s share by adverse possession through exclusive use alone. Between co-owners, the bar is higher than between strangers.
Hacienda Ranch Homes v. Superior Court defines ouster as the wrongful exclusion of a co-owner and holds that paying the taxes, maintaining the land, and posting a for-sale sign did not let one co-owner take the whole property from the others.
Clear and convincing evidence means a fact is highly probable, not just more likely true than not. California requires it before a court will rule that a deed is wrong about who owns the property.
Clear and convincing evidence is a higher standard than a preponderance of the evidence. California Evidence Code section 662 requires it before a court will disregard how a deed holds title, which often decides each co-owner’s share in a partition.
Not while probate is pending. In Amundson v. Catello (2025), the Court of Appeal held that siblings who only expected to inherit property still in probate had no right to bring a partition action.
A common myth is that an oral agreement can prevent a joint tenancy from being severed. California law is clear that it cannot, just as an oral agreement cannot create a joint tenancy.
When a California divorce is filed, automatic temporary restraining orders limit what spouses can do with property. Here is whether a spouse can still sever a joint tenancy, and how that affects partition.
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Practical guides from attorneys who focus exclusively on California partition actions.
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