Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Joint Tenancy

A joint tenancy is a special way of owning property where if one party dies the other will automatically own the other parties interest. It is legal to file an action to change the nature of ownership to Tenants in common which means that each person owns thier rights to the property. And under certain circumstances the person could ask a court to order the property to be sold. Normally the person could only sell thier interest in the home. You need to get an attorney!!

Re: Joint Tenancy

The action to force sale of co-owned real estate is called a partition action, and is described in Code of Civil Procedure sections 872.010 through 874.240, a rather lengthy and complex set of laws. You can review the Code at your county law library, and many larger general libraries also have the Codes.

Partition proceedings are frequently used where co-owners have intractable disputes that cannot be resolved by negotiation. A successful partition could result in a division of the property into two or more tracts or estates, but nowadays more often there is a court-supervised sale and the former co-owners divide the money.

A partition action will usually be permitted where the evidence shows the court that splitting the property (or the sale proceeds) is the only realistic way to resolve the dispute, but it is possible for parties to lose their right to seek a partition by surrendering that right in some kind of contract with the other owner. Partition is not available between spouses as to their community property.