Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Rather than ruin your credit, why don't you just file an action for partition. That is a legal proceeding to divide a property when any co-owner no longer wishes to be co-owners and the other co-owner(s) refuse(s) to buy-out or sell. It is called "partition" because long ago the courts would literally divide a parcel of land into parcels for each owner. Modern zoning and subdivision laws prevent that; so the modern version is a court-ordered sale by the sheriff, much like a foreclosure, and then distribution of the proceeds to the owners (subject to litigation of reimbursement claims if any). Since the sheriff's sale, just like a foreclosure, will invariably bring less than a normal sale, well marketed by a professional real estate agent, and will cost a lot in attorneys' fees, once a partition action is filed the parties pretty much invariably quickly come to a compromise for either a buy-out or joint marketing and sale of the property.