Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Partion to force sale of property

A home was willed to my 4 siblings and myself. One sibling has been living in the home for 11 years (which includes paying the mortgage, real estate taxes, etc.) The sibling that lives there pays $675/month, which is far less than what he would have paid for a rental. He has also done renovations which supposedly total 30K. This sibling is the only one to enjoy any of these renovations and they were solely for his benefit. Sibling now wants to have sole ownership. The answer is NO. Sibling believes that he is entitled to what he has paid for mortgage & taxes for 11 years plus cost of renovations, in addition to his regular percentage of home if it were divided equally.


Asked on 6/14/07, 3:49 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Peter Olson The Olson Law Firm, LLC

Re: Partion to force sale of property

Well, if a partition action is started a court's going to look at each of the owners' interests in the home and divide them up and proceeds will be divided upon sale. This isn't a pleasant process if you can avoid it. I've been involved in a partition lawsuit that has dragged on for some four years between a son and mother in a similar situation.

It's a very general standard that a court views this type of thing...the language in the partition statute is simply divide every parties respective "interest." If legitimate value-added upgrades have been added to the home by someone they very well could be entitled to reimbursement.

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Answered on 6/15/07, 8:21 am


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