Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Wisconsin

The problem of some owners not contributing to the expenses associated with real estate is a common one which is addressed by a legal procedure known as partition. If a lawsuit is properly commenced by any joint owner alleging an inability to reach consensus on payment of expenses and/or who should occupy the property, the judge will have the option of ordering the property sold at public or private auction to the highest bidder with the profits and expense reimbursements accounted for out of the sale proceeds. As long as they can afford it, the owners thereby have the right to buy out other owners in a forced sale. Once the offending owner's name is thereby removed from the title, the remaining owners will have the right to evict him or her. However, eviction against a joint owner while he or she remains on the title is generally not an option. You should consult with an experienced real estate lawyer to further explore these options. Suits to recover a share of expenses for owners refusing to pay are also possible, but may not be very practical if the offending owner is "judgment proof" due to lacking sufficient assets to satisfy the judgment. Money judgments against offending owners could also potentially be used to force judicial sales or could even serve as a basis for requesting declaratory relief reducing the ownership interests of the offending owners, but these would be far more complex proceedings than a straight partition. My comments in this public web forum are intended only for public educational purposes and are not legal advice specifically tailored to you and your case. Instead, you should retain a lawyer in order to meet your legal needs, since I will be taking no action on your case. Disclosure of confidential information in a public web forum is not recommended and is always subject to being used against you in court. You are welcome to contact my Racine, WI office at 262-633-3090 or email me at [email protected] for further information. Web forum answers may contain attorney advertising materials.