Pasadena Partition Lawyers

The City of Pasadena was originally inhabited by Native Americans and later colonized by the Spanish in the 1770s. In the 1880s, Pasadena became known as a resort town which led to the development of new neighborhoods and business districts. Today, Pasadena is the most populous city in the San Gabriel Valley. As a town with a rich history, residents of Pasadena often own homes with others due to inheritance, which can lead to disputes with co-owners. Generally, the best Pasadena Partition Lawyers usually find partition action to be the best remedy for disputing co-owners in four broad categories:

• Split real estate dispute;
• Brother-Sister real estate dispute;
• Investor-Investor real estate dispute; and
• Significant other real estate dispute

A partition action frequently involves disputes related to the allowance for improvements by one joint owner or the other. The court may, in all partition cases, make an order for an allowance, accounting, contribution, or other compensatory judgment among the parties in accordance with the principles of equity. (CCP § 872.140.) For instance, the court may make an equitable adjustment in order to offset the use value of the property against the improvement expenses. (see Hunter v. Schultz (1966) 240 Cal.App. 2d 24, 31.)

Code of Civil Procedure section 872.140 allows the court to make such orders for compensatory adjustments for items such as common improvements, unaccounted rents and profits, and other matters where contribution may be required. (Cal. L. Rev. Comm. Comment to CCP § 872.140.) An example of these types of improvements could be for remodeling a bathroom, rebuilding a deck, or painting the outside of the house. The property must be divided in a manner that allocates an individual any part that he or she has improved or that individual's predecessor in interest, to the extent that it is practical and can be done without materially injuring the rights of the other co-owners. The determination of a division of allocation does not include the value of the improvements. (CCP § 873.220.)

If a co-owner makes permanent improvements to the property in order to preserve it in good faith, with or without the consent of the other co-owners, a judgment will not be made until the cost of such improvements are ascertained and a suitable allowance is made for the improvements. (see Ventre v. Tiscornia (1913) 23 Cal.App. 598.) This means that the csots of the improvements are allocated to a joint owner before the division of the equity in a partition action. Because partition actions are equitable in nature, the court is required to consider a party's improvements at that party's own cost and good faith despite another co-owner's lack of consent. (see Mercola v. Chester (1950) 97 Cal.App.2d 140.) It is important to note that costs for the improvements do not operate as a bar to commencing and maintaining an action in partition. (see Lazzarevich v. Lazzarevich (1952) 39 Cal. 2d 48.)

At Underwood Law Firm, our Pasadena Partition Attorneys are well-versed in the legal remedy of partition, and are ready to discuss your legal issues.