What Information Should a Co-owner Gather for a Partition Action

In a partition action, gathering evidence to substantiate improvements or to prove your opposing party wrong is crucial. This evidence can significantly impact the offsets awarded and the credibility of your case. In this article, seasoned partition attorneys at Talkov Law share the variety of evidence that co-owners preparing for a partition may want to collect and organize to strengthen the case.

How Can I Show Proof of Ownership?

To get started on your partition action, provide the property’s deed to your partition attorney. It is necessary to establish your ownership interest in the real property. The following are several additional documents that reveal key information on ownerships interests in real estate:

1. Title Report or Title Search: Obtain a current title report or conduct a title search. These documents outline the complete ownership history, including any transfers, liens, or encumbrances on the property.
2. Tax Records: Gather property tax records that list you as an owner or co-owner of the subject property. These records can corroborate your ownership claim.
3. Probate Records: If you acquired the property interest through inheritance, provide probate court records, such as a decree of distribution or other documents that transfer the ownership interest to you.
4. Recorded Deeds: In addition to the original deed, provide any subsequently recorded deeds that may have transferred or modified your ownership interest.
5. Trust Documents: If the property is held in a trust, furnish the trust agreement or certification of trust, demonstrating your beneficial interest.

How Can I Prove Money Spent on Improvements?

Offsets in partition actions play an important role in the division of proceeds. “Whether the partition is by a division of the property or the distribution of the sales proceeds, the cotenant who has made the improvement is entitled to the resulting enhancement in value.”^[1]Miller & Starr, Right of partition—Compensation for improvements, 4 Cal. Real Est. (4th ed.) § 11:19 (citing Wallace v. Daley (1990) 220 Cal.App.3d 1028, 1035–38.

1. Receipts and Invoices: Retain all receipts, invoices, and canceled checks related to improvements made to the property. These documents provide direct proof of expenditures and the nature of the work performed.
2. Expert Appraisals: Consider hiring a professional appraiser or contractor to evaluate the property and provide a written report detailing the improvements, their costs, and the resulting increase in property value.
3. Photographs and Videos: Visual documentation is invaluable. Take timestamped photographs or videos of the property before and after improvements, capturing the progress and final result.

Proactively collecting and preserving this information can significantly strengthen your case and ensure a fair outcome. This information is important because “[e]ven though one cotenant does not consent to the making of an improvement, since an action for partition is essentially equitable in its nature, a court of equity is required to take into account the improvements which another cotenant, at his own cost in good faith, placed on the property which enhanced its value and to award such cost to him.”^[2]Mercola v. Chester (1950) 97 Cal.App. 2d 140, 143. Providing evidence for improvements is essential for accounting of offsets.

Where to Find Evidence for Previous Improvements?

This question may arise when a client inherits a partial interest in a property. It is common for the co-owner to claim contributions and assert that a predecessor didn’t make any contributions. In California, the partition statutes allow for the recovery of “any portion that embraces improvements made by that party or that party’s predecessor in interest.”^[3]Code of Civil Procedure 873.220; see Wallace v. Daley (1990) 220 Cal.App. 3d 1028, 1036.. To recover for a predecessor’s contributions, the following resources may be helpful.

1. Public Records: Examine public records, such as property tax assessments, building permits, or utility bills, which may indicate changes in the property’s value or improvements made over time.
2. Google: Google Street Views are amazing sources to tell the history of a property. The Google Maps website provides a historical street view. For example, when proving expenditures towards building a property’s roof, Google Earth may show that the property had no roof before your co-ownership. Also, Google Earth download will allow you to look at historical topographical imagery. In the scenario where a party claims that a certain person didn’t live there back in 2010, it may be helpful to look on Google Street View to prove that their car was parked in front of the property.
3. Subpoena: Subpoenaing banks and mortgage companies should be a last resort, as it takes extra time and can lead to objections. This includes subpoenaing the client’s own bank, as online portals often have limited date ranges. Alternatively, clients should first download all available records from their bank’s website, which is cheaper and easier than a subpoena. Nevertheless, when proving a predecessor’s contributions and having limited access to their bank statements, a subpoena may sometimes yield more comprehensive data and reveal historical information that cannot be proven otherwise.

Reimbursement for Improvements in Partition Actions

Helpful Records to Trace Communications

Some of the most valuable records to collect include emails, text messages, and witness statements. Compiling this documentation will help paint a clear picture of the co-ownership relationship and any disputes that have arisen over time.

1. Emails and text messages: Be sure to search the inbox using email addresses they may have had many years ago but have since changed to find your communications with co-owners. Text messages can be tough if the phones are gone but you may look to your iCloud to see if any messages were stored from the past.
2. Witnesses: A declaration may be used to report statements from witnesses, such as neighbors, family members, or contractors, who may have observed the improvements or interactions between co-owners.

Talkov Law’s Partition Attorneys Can Help

Thorough documentation and evidence gathering are crucial in partition actions, as they assist the court in equitably distributing the property or awarding offsets based on contributions made by co-owners. If you need help organizing your evidence when seeking to end your co-ownership relationship, contact California’s premier partition action law firm, Talkov Law. With nine, full time partition lawyers, Talkov Law is prepared to help you resolve your co-ownership dispute. Talkov Law has handled over 400 partition actions throughout California. For a free consultation, call (844) 4-TALKOV (825568) or reach out online today.