The Moor You Know | Episode 3 – Joint Ownership

From Moorhead:

I own a property jointly with people I don’t like. How can I sell it if we don’t agree?

I’m being facetious about the “not liking each other.” Well… maybe not. Joint ownership with someone you may not have chosen to own property with happens frequently. It may be that the parties are distant relatives who have inherited property or perhaps they are a step-parent who owns property with step-children. One may want to sell, and one may want to live in the property. Another way is when the parties choose to purchase property together such as when they are in a relationship. But, what happens when they are no longer together.

The legal remedy for all of these situations is a partition action. Partition is where the court takes jurisdiction for a piece of property and either the court clerk or another party that reports to the clerk, sells the property and the parties receive the proceeds. The court will then determine who gets what based on their ownership interests and, in some cases, their contributions to the property.

In July 2020, a new law was enacted that allows a special type of partition for heirship property. This statute was designed to assist with the partition of family property. It will be interesting to see how this statute works, in practice.

WRITTEN TRANSCRIPT

Joint Ownership Can Get Messy

Let’s face it… joint ownership can get messy when you don’t agree on how to sell the property.

How can I sell a property when the other owner disagrees?

In 2 minutes, I’ll explore how this issue can come up and what YOU can do about it.

Let’s quickly explore how this issue can come up and what YOU can do about it.

Believe it or not, it’s pretty common to own property with someone you didn’t choose… or worse… someone you don’t like.

Maybe the other party is a distant relative who inherited property or a step-parent who owns property with their step-children.

Maybe you’re in a relationship and decided to buy property together. What happens when you are no longer together?

In other cases, joint property owners are at odds over whether expenses and USE of the property are FAIRLY shared.

The legal remedy for all of these situations is a partition action. This is where the COURT steps in and DIVIDES the property.

Partition Action = A legal action where the court divides the property equitably.

Land is divided fairly – With land, this is straightforward. The acreage is EQUITABLY divided.

A house or building is sold and then shares are divided equitably – With a house or property that’s NOT easily divided, the court SELLS the property and distributes SHARES equitably.

The court decides who gets what based on ownership interests and sometimes contributions to the property. The court determines who gets what based on their ownership interests and, in some cases, their CONTRIBUTIONS to the property.

Heirship Property = Property acquired from a family member upon their death.

In July 2020, a new law was enacted allowing a special type of partition for HEIRSHIP property, which assists families with the partition of their property.  It will be interesting to see how this statute works, in practice.

If you’re in a messy situation with another owner, work with a real estate lawyer to start a partition action. So, if you’re in a messy situation with other property owners, talk to a real estate lawyer to start a partition action.

A GOOD lawyer will keep your interests… and your sanity… intact.

That’s… the Moor you know.