THE SOTO LAW OFFICE, P.A.

Under Chapter 64 of the Florida Statutes, a party may petition the court to partition property and request the court to enter a judgment as to what each owner’s rights and interests are in the property.

A partition action could be filed by joint tenants, tenants in common, or co-parceners, which could be against co-tenants, co-parceners or other parties who have an interest in the property to be divided. In certain situations, a Personal Representative of an Estate and a Trustee of a Trust may also initiate the partition action. However, a partner in a partnership is not able to utilize the court system to divide real property that is owned by a partnership because a Dissolution of the Partnership is the proper remedy for that situation.

In some situations, the court may decide that the property cannot be divisible. In those cases, the court may determine that the property should be sold and the proceeds of the sale distributed amongst the owners according to their respective interest.

Besides distributing the property according to the parties’ respective interests, the Court may also make an equitable adjustment for the following:

* Improvements that were made in good faith by a property owner;

* Contributions towards the property such as taxes, insurance payments, payments for the mortgage or repair costs; or

* Rental value for the property – nonetheless a party may only be able to receive an equitable adjustment for the rental value if that property owner was ousted from the property.

Contact Attorney Kimberly M. Soto at 321.972.2279 to discuss your partition action questions or other real estate needs. The Soto Law Office, P.A. is conveniently located in Altamonte Springs, Florida near I-4, and proudly serves the residents of Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Casselberry, Longwood, Ocoee, Orlando, Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia counties.