Livermore Partition Lawyers

Livermore, a city in Alameda County, is at the eastern edge of the San Francisco Bay Area. This proximity to a major city has elevated Livermore’s real estate market so that most buildings are jointly owned by two or more owners. Joint property acquisition allows two parties to combine their strengths when entering the real estate market. However, co-owners are bound by the single property, and disagreements arise when each co-owner has different plans for the shared property. One co-owner may want to sell and profit, while another may want to hold and reinvest. In these situations, speaking with a Livermore Partition Lawyer is crucial to know your rights as a joint owner.

Livermore Partition Lawyers often find disputing joint owners in the following categories: 

• Split land one party wants to sell;
• Girlfriend-Boyfriend land one wants to sell;
• Investor-Investor land one wants to sell; and 
• Brother-Sister land one wants to sell;

When parties initiate partition of a shared property, the law favors partition in kind, that is, the physical division of the property. A Livermore Partition Attorney can explain that such a method is preferred because the physical division of the property does not disturb the existing form of inheritance or force a person to sell their property against their will. The referee appointed by the court to oversee the partition must divide the property and allot the several portions to the parties according to their interests in the property. Where the property to be partitioned consists of more than one parcel, it will be divided by such parcels to the extent that it can be done without injustice to the parties’ rights. However, where the title to the land was proven through conveyances referring to a specific map, the property must be partitioned according to the same map to avoid conflict.

When allotting the property among the joint owners, the referee may consider all the elements of value. In East Shore Co., the court allowed the referee to take into consideration the proximity of the property to centers of population, commerce, and the different uses to which each parcel of land could be used, giving those parcels with more significant benefits more value than others. (See East Shore Co. v. Richmond Belt Ry. (1916) 172 Cal. 174.) The referee will also consider the existence, scope, and effect of any liens and contracts of sale to which the land may be subject and should separately partition the parcels to allow them, in severalties, to be subject to those liens and contracts. This applies where the property consists of several distinct parcels, some of them subject to liens, others to contracts of sale, and still others unencumbered. An expert Livermore Partition Lawyer knows, however, that in appropriate cases, the court may order a partition by sale, given certain circumstances, that would make such manner more equitable than partition in kind.

The Livermore Partition Lawyers at the Underwood Law Firm are experts in dealing with partition actions. Let us help make your troubled situation appear seamless and obtain for you the greatest benefit you are legally required to receive.