Understanding Trademark Law Protections

What It Is

A partition action is a way of dividing real estate property owned by several people so that each person can use their portion of the property any way they like. It can be used to divide a home or a vacant land so that each of the owners has their own share.

When it's Necessary

A partition action becomes necessary when two or more people own a piece of real estate property, but they can't agree on how to use it. Say you bought a house with two of your cousins and you have been using it for several years, but one of the cousins now want you to sell the house, you still wish to keep it, while the other cousin wants you to rent out the house. If you fail to come to an agreement on what to do with the house, you can use partition action to divide up the house into different shares so that each of the owners can manage their share.

How It Happens

There are two main ways in which you can apply partition action:

Partition in Kind

Partition in kind is an actual or physical division of real estate property; therefore, this option only applies if the property you own can have physical boundaries that will allow each of you to control or own an actual piece of the property. For example, if three people own an acre of land jointly, they can divide it into three pieces so that each of them ends up with a third of an acre. Or if you own an apartment block, you can divide it so that each of you ends up with a level.

Of course, a partition in kind also makes sense only if you can get along with your co-owners. For example, if one of the owners has been accused of a sex offense, and you don't want to live next to them or own a property next to them, then a partition in kind becomes difficult.

Partition in Sale

A partition in sale is where you sell the property and divide the proceeds. It makes sense if the property you own cannot be easily divided or if you don't get along with the other owners of the property. For example, it would be difficult for three people to divide a two-bedroom house; which means a partition in sale is more suited to that kind of situation.

Contact an attorney, like Steve Butcher Sr, for more help.