Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: real estate - partition of ownership

It depends upon a variety of factors, not the least of which is whether there exists an agreement that either restricts the generally unfettered right of sale by a co-tenant, or that governs how such a sale/distribution would be conducted.

Absent such an agreement, statute controls. A lawsuit for partition must be filed; a court must enter a judgment of partition; and then the court appoints a referee or receiver to handle the actual sale. Distribution of proceeds can be complicated depending upon which co-tenant has been paying mortage, interest, insurance, maintenance, upkeep, taxes, etc.

Hourly rates will vary by attorney and area - you can expect to spend at least $300 per hour on a competent attorney familiar with filing, prosecuting and resolving partition lawsuits. There are some attorneys (such as this firm) that handle partition cases on a contingency; but the facts must warrant such an arrangement.

As for length of time, in an uncontested case, it would not be out of the ordinary for the matter to take 6-10 months, depending upon the condition of the property, speed of court, and condition of the market. A contested case can easily take two years or more.

Good luck. Contact us if you need more detailed information.

Re: real estate - partition of ownership

Assuming you're not bound by some prohibition or restriction on your right to sell, the other side would probably cave in and consent to a sale after you've spent less than five thousand bucks.

This assumes the other side is reasonable and recognizes that resistance is a waste of money. You can't really ever predict what the other side will do.

Re: real estate - partition of ownership

I think if you combine the comments by Mr. Guerrini and Mr. Berger, there isn't much else to say.

One technique I've used to save time in a couple of cases is to get the other side to agree to a stipulated judgment of partition, basically accepting the inevitable to save time and cost, selling the property in a private sale through a regular commercial listing process using a broker, then submitting the economic issues such as who gets how much of the net proceeds to a private arbitration process. The court retains jurisdiction to step in and enforce the agreed process if necessary, and enters final judgment on the arbitration award. This can cut a year and ten grand off the cost.

I am a solo practitioner specializing in real estate including difficult partition cases, and my rate is $200 an hour, part of which could be made payable out of the proceeds of the partition if my client has a sound case. I'm located in Marin County, and if the property is in Alameda County, that's easily handled at no extra cost.

Please feel free to contact me directly for a discussion of how your particular case might be handled.