In Bacon v. Wahrhaftig, the California Court of Appeal revived a Kern County oil-land partition, holding that fraud, damages and accounting claims against co-owners are part of one partition case, and that the court can decide every issue needed to do complete justice.
In De Uprey v. De Uprey, the California Supreme Court affirmed the sale of a co-owned San Francisco lot despite five demurrers, holding that a partition complaint need not say how the property should be divided and that ownership disputes are decided inside the partition.
When five siblings inherit a house and three want to sell, the other two cannot stop the sale, whether one lives in the house or one is simply on the fence. Any one of the three can file a partition action, and every other sibling is named as a defendant without having to take a side.
A partition action can proceed against a co-owner on active military duty, but the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act allows stays of at least 90 days and bars default judgments until the court appoints counsel.
Usually, yes. Filing first in a partition action gives you control over the timeline, the court, the lis pendens, and how the case is framed, advantages the responding co-owner cannot easily reclaim.
A partition action lets a California co-owner force the sale of jointly owned property through the court. This guide walks through the steps, from filing to sale.
When a co-owner dies, you don’t have to wait for probate to sell. A joint tenant takes the whole property by survivorship; a tenant in common can force a sale through a partition action that joins the estate or heirs.
Foreclosure is especially hard when co-owners are in a partition action. An injunction may give co-owners a way to protect the property while the case moves forward.
A clear and marketable title is essential when property is sold in a partition action. Here is how title insurance protects the sale and the buyer.
A California partition action can resolve ownership, title disputes, reimbursements, rent, liens, fees, and the sale. Learn its scope, limits, and how the accounting affects your payout.
Yes. A California co-owner can partition a rental property even with tenants and a good lease. Here is how rent, receivers, tenants, deposits and the sale are handled.
If a co-owner dies during a partition action, the case doesn’t end. Here are the steps to take, with a sample affidavit regarding the death of a co-owner.
Code of Civil Procedure section 874.225 explains that a person who is not a party to the partition action is not affected by the judgment, except under certain conditions.
When a co-owner can’t be located, California law allows service by publication so the partition action can move forward to judgment.
Code of Civil Procedure section 872.550 lets a partition plaintiff join all persons unknown who claim an interest in the property when partition is sought as to all interests.
Code of Civil Procedure section 872.520 tells a partition plaintiff what to do when the name of a person who must be joined is unknown, or when an interest is unknown, uncertain, or contingent.
Code of Civil Procedure section 872.510 requires a partition plaintiff to name as defendants everyone who has or claims an interest in the property that is of record or known to the plaintiff.
Code of Civil Procedure section 872.540 lets a partition plaintiff leave out certain oil and gas interest holders when the property is subject to an oil or gas lease or pooling arrangement.
Code of Civil Procedure section 872.630 lets the court decide the status and priority of liens to the extent needed to grant relief in a partition action.
Code of Civil Procedure section 872.530 explains how to file a partition action against a co-owner who has died, and what happens when a defendant dies during the case.
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 872.420 tells a lienholder named in a partition action what its answer must say: the date of the lien, what kind of lien it is, and how much is still owed.
How a co-owner who wants out wins a partition action in California: force the sale or a buyout, answer the defenses your co-owner will raise, maximize your offsets, and build your record from day one.
Code of Civil Procedure section 872.840 explains how property subject to an express trust can be divided or sold in a partition, and the trustee’s duties.
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.
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Practical guides from attorneys who focus exclusively on California partition actions.
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