Sunrise Partition Action Attorney

A partition action is one of the few lawsuits where nobody has to be wrong for it to be necessary. Co-owners of a property can be perfectly reasonable people who simply want different things: one wants to sell, one wants to keep, one wants to be paid out. The Sunrise partition action attorney team at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles these disputes for co-owners of real estate in Sunrise and across Broward County, along with Palm Beach County and the wider South Florida region, including business partners who bought property together, siblings holding inherited real estate, unmarried couples, and investors who want out of a shared deal.

Florida law gives every co-owner the ability to ask a court to end the co-ownership, but what happens next is often not what people expect. The court does not simply split the house down the middle or hand it to the highest bidder on day one. There are stages, appointed commissioners, special rules for inherited property, and real choices about whether land is divided or sold. Understanding that sequence before filing, or before responding to a complaint someone else filed, shapes how well a co-owner comes out of it.

How a Florida Partition Case Moves From Complaint to Judgment

All partition actions in Florida are equity cases heard in circuit court. For Sunrise property, that means the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County. The case begins with a complaint that must describe the land, identify each owner and where each lives, state how much of the property each one holds, and include whatever else the court needs to sort out the parties’ rights. Getting those allegations right matters, because disputes over who owns what share are frequently the first fight in the case, well before anyone talks about selling.

Once the court determines the plaintiff is entitled to partition, it enters a judgment of partition and appoints three suitable persons as commissioners, unless the parties agree on who they should be. The commissioners examine the property and report back on whether it can be divided fairly. If they conclude that division cannot be done without prejudice to the owners, and the judge agrees, the court may order the property sold at public auction to the highest bidder, with the proceeds divided in proportion to each owner’s interest. A sale can sometimes be ordered on credit for good cause, but at least one-third of the purchase money must be paid at the outset unless every party consents to different terms.

In practice, many partition cases never reach the auction stage. The prospect of a court-ordered sale, which usually brings less than a negotiated market sale, pushes co-owners toward buyouts, agreed listings with a broker, or a settlement that lets one owner keep the property and pay out the others. That is where a Sunrise real estate litigation attorney earns their keep: knowing when to press the court process and when to use it as leverage for a better private deal.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Partition Disputes in Sunrise

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in South Florida’s difficult business and real estate disputes, serving clients in Sunrise, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and throughout Broward County and Palm Beach County. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation and has practiced in Florida since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. His career has been built around contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders, which is exactly the background many partition cases require, since so many of them grow out of a failed business relationship.

Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator, brings years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts. The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on a file knows it, and it keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court. The firm also has recent trial success in real estate: after a five-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit judge entered a 32-page final judgment granting the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That kind of record, built on detailed evidence and careful preparation, carries over into partition and title cases where the paperwork and the history between the parties decide the outcome.

The firm is experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and it looks for the resolution that serves the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake. Clients who live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut but co-own Florida property can count on the firm to handle local court appearances while keeping them informed at every stage.

Situations That Lead Co-Owners to Seek Partition

• Former Business Partners: A company dissolves or one partner exits, and the real estate the business bought is still titled in both names. Without a buyout or sale agreement, partition may be the only clean way to end the shared ownership.
• Inherited Property Among Siblings: Heirs take title together and later disagree about selling, renting, or living in the home. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act can apply here and changes the process significantly, as discussed below.
• Unmarried Couples: Two people buy a home together and the relationship ends, with no family court to divide the asset. Partition is the vehicle for separating their ownership.
• Investor Co-Ownership: Several investors hold a rental or commercial property, and one wants liquidity while the others want to hold. The dispute may also involve claims about contributions, expenses, and rents collected.
• Disputes Over Who Owns What Share: Unequal down payments, one owner paying the mortgage, taxes, and repairs, or unclear deeds can make the percentage of ownership the real fight. These issues are resolved inside the partition case.
• Title Clouds and Competing Claims: Where someone else asserts an ownership interest, or a recorded instrument muddies title, a quiet title action under Florida’s quiet title statute may run alongside or before partition.
• Co-Owners Who Will Not Cooperate: An owner who refuses to sign a listing, ignores communications, or occupies the property and excludes the others can leave the other owners stuck without court involvement.

Inherited Property and the Heirs Property Rules

When siblings or other relatives inherit real estate as tenants in common, Florida applies a separate set of rules in Part II of Chapter 64, the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, to partition actions filed on or after July 1, 2020. Property qualifies as heirs property when it is held in a tenancy in common, there is no binding agreement among all the co-owners about partition, at least one co-owner acquired title from a relative, and one of several additional conditions is met, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests. If the court finds the property is heirs property, it must be partitioned under these rules unless all co-owners agree otherwise in writing.

The practical effect is more protection for the family member who wants to stay. A judgment of partition in kind is not entered until the court is satisfied that the appointed commissioners considered the statutory factors and found that dividing the property would prejudice the co-owners as a group, which gives families more room to resolve things privately and more procedural steps before a forced sale. Whether the property is classified as heirs property is often contested, and it can change the whole trajectory of the case.

What to Do If You Co-Own Property and the Relationship Has Broken Down

Start by gathering the paper. The deed, any closing statement, mortgage statements, property tax bills, insurance records, and proof of who paid for repairs and improvements all bear on how ownership shares and credits are calculated. If the property came through an estate, collect the will, probate filings, and any recorded documents. If it was purchased through a business, find the operating agreement or partnership agreement and any written understanding about what happens to the property when the owners part ways, because a binding agreement can control the outcome and can also affect whether the heirs property rules apply.

Next, stop doing things that make your position worse. Do not lock a co-owner out, change records, or sell your interest informally without advice. Keep paying your share of the mortgage, taxes, and insurance if you can, and document it, since those payments may be recoverable in the accounting that accompanies a partition. Communicate in writing where possible so there is a record of any buyout offers or refusals.

If a lawsuit is necessary, it is filed in the circuit court for the county where the land sits. For property in Sunrise, that is the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward County, which handles its civil matters through the Central Judicial Complex in Fort Lauderdale and regional courthouses. Where a partition grows out of a business dissolution, it may belong with the circuit’s complex business docket, which handles dissolutions of certain business entities and large business litigation. For property in Palm Beach County, the case belongs in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Palm Beach County. Talk to a lawyer before filing or responding, because the claims you bring together, such as partition, an accounting, or quiet title, are easier to include at the start than to add later.

The most common mistake is waiting. Co-owners often let a standoff run for years while taxes accrue, a property deteriorates, or one owner collects rent alone. Another is assuming the court will order a quick sale at full market value; court-ordered sales typically move slowly and often bring less than a negotiated sale. A third is ignoring a partition complaint after being served. A defendant who does not respond risks losing the chance to shape the process, argue for a buyout, or contest the claimed ownership percentages.

Partition, Quiet Title, and Related Claims

Partition is often one claim among several. Florida’s quiet title statute gives circuit courts jurisdiction over actions by anyone claiming legal or equitable title to land, including cases where multiple people claim the same land under a common title. A quiet title complaint can be used to cancel a conveyance or other evidence of title and remove a cloud, may be filed in any county where part of the land lies, and generally requires the plaintiff to trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise. Where co-owners disagree about whether someone holds any interest at all, quiet title and partition are frequently litigated together.

When the co-owners are also partners or LLC members, a partition may overlap with a business divorce. LLC members can seek judicial dissolution on grounds that include deadlock with threatened irreparable injury, misappropriation or waste of assets, and impracticability of carrying on the company under its operating agreement, and a court can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing. A deadlock sale provision in an operating agreement can take priority over a court-ordered dissolution if it is initiated in time. Sorting out whether property belongs to the company or to the individual owners is a threshold question, and the answer determines whether the proper vehicle is partition, dissolution, or both.

Questions About Partition Actions in Sunrise and Broward County

What is a partition action in Florida?

It is a lawsuit asking a court to end co-ownership of real property, either by physically dividing the land or, when division is not practical, by ordering a sale and splitting the proceeds according to each owner’s share.

Can one co-owner force the others to sell?

A co-owner can ask the court for partition, and the court can order a sale if the commissioners report that division cannot be done without prejudice to the owners. The result is not automatic, and special protections apply to inherited property.

Which court handles a partition case for property in Sunrise?

Partition is an equity action heard in circuit court. Property in Sunrise falls in Broward County, so the case belongs in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County.

Who decides how the property is divided?

After a judgment of partition, the court appoints three suitable persons as commissioners, unless the parties agree on them. They evaluate whether the land can be divided fairly and report to the judge, who then decides whether to approve a division or order a sale.

What happens if the property is sold at auction?

The court may order a sale at public auction to the highest bidder, and the proceeds are divided among the owners in proportion to their interests. On a credit sale ordered for good cause, at least one-third of the purchase money must be paid down unless everyone consents otherwise.

Is inherited property treated differently?

Yes. If the property qualifies as heirs property under Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, the court must follow Part II of Chapter 64 unless all co-owners agree otherwise in writing. Those rules add steps designed to give family co-owners more options before a forced sale.

Can I buy out the other owners instead of selling?

Often, yes. Many partition cases settle with one owner buying the others out at an agreed or appraised value. The pending lawsuit, and the risk of an auction, usually gives everyone a reason to negotiate.

Does a partition action cover who paid for mortgage, taxes, and repairs?

Those issues are commonly raised in the case. An owner who carried more than their share of carrying costs, or who collected rent alone, may have claims that affect how the proceeds are split, which is why documentation matters.

What if my business partner and I own property through a company?

Then the first question is who actually holds title, the company or the individuals. If the company owns it, the dispute may be resolved through dissolution, buyout, or the operating agreement rather than ordinary partition, and the agreement may have a deadlock sale provision that controls.

How long does a partition case take in Broward County?

It depends on whether ownership shares are disputed, whether the property is heirs property, and whether the owners settle. Uncontested cases move faster, while cases with contested title, accounting claims, or appraisal fights take longer. A negotiated buyout is usually the quickest route.

I live out of state. Can I still pursue or defend a partition?

Yes. Our firm regularly represents owners in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold Florida real estate, handling the local court appearances and keeping them informed so they do not have to travel for every hearing.

Can another attorney refer me to your firm for a partition matter?

Yes. A significant part of the firm’s work comes from referrals by other lawyers, and it communicates with referring counsel throughout the matter.

Serving Partition Action Clients Across Sunrise and South Florida

From Sunrise itself, our team represents co-owners in neighboring Plantation, Tamarac, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Davie, and Weston, and in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, and Coconut Creek across Broward County. We also serve clients in Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens, along with owners from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold real estate or business interests in South Florida. Whether the property is a single-family home, a rental, or a commercial parcel, the same questions apply about ownership shares, buyouts, and what a court is likely to order.

Talk With a Sunrise Partition Action Attorney

If you share title to property and cannot agree on what happens to it, the options are better understood early than after taxes pile up and communication stops. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your deed, your agreements, and the history among the owners, and explain whether a negotiated buyout, a sale, or a partition lawsuit makes the most sense. Call to speak with a Sunrise partition attorney about your situation and to schedule a consultation.