What Is a Partition Action in California?

A partition action is a lawsuit that lets a co-owner of real property end the co-ownership, even if the other owners object. California treats the right to partition as close to absolute: with narrow exceptions, a co-owner who no longer wants to own property with someone else can ask the court to divide the property or, far more commonly, order it sold and the proceeds split.

Partition is governed by Code of Civil Procedure section 872.010 and following, as updated by the Partition of Real Property Act for many co-owned properties. The court determines each owner's interest, may appoint a referee to sell the property, and adjusts the final split through an accounting that credits owners for things like mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, and necessary repairs they carried alone. Under the newer statute, co-owners may also get appraisal and buyout rights before a forced sale.

Partition cases usually arrive after an inheritance shared by siblings, a broken engagement or partnership, or an investment that soured. The accounting is where most of the money is won or lost, so records of who paid what matter enormously.