California Partition Law Blog
A partition action occurs when there are two or more title holders to a piece of property, and these title holders are unable to reach an agreement on splitting the subject property. Typically, a litigant brings a partition action to have the court force the sale of or split the subject property.
Generally, an action for partition can be brought forth by a co-owner of real property and a co-owner of personal property. Notably, a court can partition not only real property or real estate but also personal property of any kind. (CCP § 872.230(a).)
Indeed, courts in California have partitioned all types of personal property, including ownership of crops, shares of stock, and businesses. At the Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are more than familiar with partition actions.
While it may not be obvious, a sizeable portion of the work that real estate agents and realtors do is court-ordered. Real estate law is a massive field, and often, the disposition of litigation results in the court forcing the sale of a property, be it a business, home, condominium, etc. As such, many realtors find themselves acting as agents or referees for parties to a lawsuit. 
Generally, a bankruptcy proceeding acts as a stay on the collection of debt as well as any acts needed to be taken to enforce a debt. The rules regarding 
Receivers and partitions referees are cut from the same cloth. In actions involving property, they step in at the request of the parties or order of the court to properly dispose of or manage the property at issue. That said, there are enough differences between the two to warrant litigants being put on notice. 
An action for accounting is an equitable action seeking to determine the amount owed to the parties of an action when damages are uncertain. “An accounting is an equitable proceeding which is proper where there is an unliquidated and unascertained amount owing that cannot be determined without an examination of the debits and credits on the books to determine what is due and owing.” (
A motion to determine title is a motion to the court requesting that the court establish title to a piece of real property. Typically, a motion to determine title shows up in the court as a quiet title action. A quiet title action is brought when a litigant seeks to establish that they have an ownership interest in the subject property and refute any adverse claims against the litigant. It follows that to prevail on a motion to determine title; one must show that they hold some ownership interest in the subject property. 
Yes, but only in specific circumstances. When thinking of lawsuits, most people associate them with individuals. John may sue Mary for battery, for example. But this isn’t always the case. A large part of the law is devoted to virtual representation because some people, like minors, simply cannot file suit. 
When there are two or more owners of a piece of real property who are unable to come to an agreement on how to divide the property, any co-owner of the subject property may petition the court to partition the property. This is known as a partition action. Generally, the decision of a court to partition the property is merely the first step in the partition process. Although a partition action may sound quite simple, it is a complex process that requires extensive accounting and patience. 
In California, property subject to a trust can be partitioned, though with some additional wrinkles to the regular partition process. Because trusts can often involve successive estates with future and present property interests, litigants should take care to understand the law regarding trusts before beginning such an action.