Partition of Property in Florida

When you own property with someone else, there can be a variety of reasons that you might run into issues agreeing about the use of the property. Even sales of the property or improvements to it can lead to disputes among the owners of the property. The more people who are involved in the ownership of the property, the more complex all of these challenges might be.

If you want to alleviate and clarify property ownership in Florida, you will have to enter into the Partition Action Lawsuit process. This is governed by a specific set of Florida statutes that are designed to help you to force a sale or the division of the property to alleviate conflict over its use or sale. There are some different types of Partition Action that you can use to handle this kind of dispute, and the team at Lopez Law can help you to secure a favorable outcome in any of these different kinds of cases.

Different Types of Partition Actions

There are actually three different kinds of Partition of Property actions that are outlined under Chapter 64 of the Florida Statutes. These different kinds of Partition actions can offer you solutions to various issues or conflicts that you are having with the person that you own real property with. You will need to know some more about these different types of Partition Action to figure out which is the right one for your needs.

Your lawyer can advise you about the right Partition action for your unique case and can help you to take care of all the documentation and legal process that must be completed to exercise your right to Partition. There is recourse under Florida law to protect your interests in the real property that you own and to ensure that you can resolve disputes related to the management and use of real property that you co-own with someone else.

1.       Partition by Physical Division

This kind of Partition of Property is usually only applied to undeveloped or rural land. It is much more complex to split up any property that has housing or buildings on it, and there will always be related inequity in the value of the pieces of property that are created when dividing land that is already developed. Partition by physical division allows all parties to get an equal value section of the property that they can develop, sell, or dispose of as they wish.

2.       Partition By Sale

Partition by sale is the most common use of this set of laws because there are rarely any situations where the parties involved in the property’s management can continue to manage the location without further dispute. When partition by sale is used to resolve disputes over shared property, the piece of property will be sold via private sale or at public auction. The proceeds of the sale will be split equally among the owners, and the dispute will be concluded. If the property is not owned equally by all the parties involved, they will be given the amount of money equal to their percentage of ownership of the property.

3.       Partition by Appraisal

This form of Partition is used to help one owner to buy off another owner that has an interest in the property. This is more common for a property that has a business that is located on it, and the owner that has an interest in the business wants to buy out the other parties involved. There are other reasons that this Partition type might be used, and even disputes over undeveloped land can be resolved using this method of Partition. This is a great option if someone who owns a property wants to keep the property to develop it or even to sell it, and they have the resources to buy out the other party or parties who own the property with them.

An appraisal will be used to define the value of the section of property that is being sold, and this is the amount that will have to be paid by the owner who wants to keep it when removing the interest of the other owners. This is just like buying out a business partner, and those who are interested in using this method of Partition need to be aware of the upfront cost of this solution.

When Does Partition Become Necessary?

It can be quite common for parties who own property together to have completely different ideas about what to do with the property. In addition, if one party wants to develop the property to use for business purposes or for a family dwelling, there are many issues that arise from sharing ownership of the property with someone else.

When a business already exists on the property, and one party has the complete controlling interest in the business asset but not the land itself. This can lead to lots of conflicts that must be resolved in some way. The Partition actions that are offered in Florida are designed to resolve these conflicts so that real property can be owned in such a way that there is no legal strife over its management.

There are instances when Partition actions need to be used to deal with a real property that has been passed to an heir who has no wish to keep their portion of the interest as well. When the other parties who still have a portion of the ownership of the property want to keep the property, they should be allowed to buy out the heir who does not wish to own this real property.

How is a Partition Action Filed in Florida?

When Partition actions need to be taken, the owners of the property need to file a lawsuit to seek Partition redress of their conflict. Florida Law says that Partition actions have to be filed in the county where the property is located. The filing process requires that all parties with an interest in the property will be listed in the lawsuit and notified of the proceedings.

At least one owner has to file for the Partition action, and then the other parties who have ownership interest become defendants in the case. The court will appoint a referee to oversee the process and make sure that the rights of all the parties involved are upheld as the Partition process is completed. A Partition attorney will be needed to help make sure that all of the proceedings are legal and that no fees, costs, charges, and other important documents are overlooked.

Taxes will have to be paid when the purchase or sale of the property is completed and each party involved will be bound to pay for their part of the costs associated with the Partition action. The costs for the owners might be covered by the sale of the property when Partition by sale is used to handle a Partition case.

The court will almost never file against a forced sale. The right to Partition is an absolute right in Florida. The only time that the court might stop the Partition process is if the owner waived their right to partition. There is also the option to pursue a direct buyout if you want to stop the Partition process and retain possession of the property in question. This is the most common way that parties resolve disputes over property without having to access Partition actions.

Your lawyer can help with the sales process as well if you decide to engage in a direct buyout to eliminate the need for Partition actions. Make sure that you defer to your attorney’s advice with regard to this process. There are complexities that can be involved in the buyout process that will necessitate that you and your lawyer work together to find an amicable buyout resolution for all parties involved.