Why Might I Need to Partition a Property?

Co-ownership of real property frequently occurs with spouses, business partners, or adult children and aging parents. If you are a co-owner, you have a legal ownership interest in the property as does your co-owner(s). As co-owners, you each have rights as well as obligations regarding the property. For example, each co-owner has the right to use the property but also has an obligation to maintain the property. If a dispute occurs between co-owners over those rights or obligations, the only way to resolve the dispute may be to legally divide (partition) the property. Typically, one co-owner buys out the other owner(s) by paying them for their ownership interest in the property or, alternatively, the property is sold and the proceeds split among the co-owners according to their ownership percentage.

Common Factors that Impact the Cost of Partition Action

When any dispute escalates to the point of litigation, the costs associated with that lawsuit should be considered by all parties. In the case of a partition action, several factors can have an impact on expenses related to the litigation, including:

• Title: There are several legal ways in which two or more people can co-own real property. Some types of co-ownership are based on each party having the same legal interest in the property; however, if the property is held as tenants in common, each party’s legal interest in the property may vary. For example, one party might own 60 percent of the property while the other co-owner owns 40 percent. In a partition action, a dispute may arise regarding what legal interest each party has in the property. An entirely separate, but related, dispute can even occur based on the conditions under which the property was originally transferred to the parties. If there are issues that cloud the title, they must be resolved before proceeding with partition, which will increase the costs involved in partition.
• Eviction: At the end of a partition action, it is not uncommon for one (or more) parties to be ordered to vacate the property. Despite this court order, a party may refuse to leave, resulting in the need to return to court for a writ of possession followed by eviction procedures. If it is necessary to legally evict a party (or parties) after a partition action, the costs involved in doing so will increase the overall expense of partition.
• Referee: All that is legally required in a partition action is an appraiser for a buy-out and/or a real estate agent for a sale. Some attorneys, however, choose to involve another lawyer, referred to as a “referee” or “receiver”, in a partition action. That lawyer (the “receiver”), in turn, hires the appraiser or real estate agent and may even hire yet another lawyer to represent their legal interests while acting in the role of receiver. The end result of this approach is that you have added two additional attorneys to the partition process along with their legal fees – which can be considerable. Not surprisingly, this can dramatically increase the cost of a partition action.
• Attorney: As is usually the case in any litigation, your choice of attorney can directly impact the cost of a partition action. When you hire an attorney whose practice regularly includes partition actions, that attorney will need to spend considerably less time researching the law and procedures necessary to litigate your case. Consequently, you will be billed for fewer hours, which will decrease the overall cost of a partition action in Georgia.

Speak to an Experienced Georgia Partition Action Attorney Today

The best way to get an estimate on your costs in a Georgia partition action is to speak directly with an experienced partition attorney to discuss the facts of your case. If you have questions or concerns about a Georgia partition action, contact an experienced Georgia partition action attorney at Thrift McLemore to discuss how we can help you by calling 678-784-4150.