Deerfield Beach Partition Action Attorney

Co-owning a house, a rental building, or a commercial parcel in Deerfield Beach works until one owner wants out and the others do not, or until nobody can agree on who pays the taxes, who lives there, or what the property is worth. At that point Florida gives each co-owner a powerful tool: the right to ask a court to split the property or sell it. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for owners, investors, and families in Deerfield Beach and across Broward and Palm Beach Counties, and a Deerfield Beach partition action attorney from our team can tell you where you stand before you file or before you respond to someone else’s complaint.

Partition is not a negotiation tactic that fizzles out. Once a complaint is filed in the circuit court, the case moves toward a judgment that either divides the land among the owners or orders it sold and the proceeds shared according to each owner’s interest. The outcome depends on how title is held, what the owners agreed to in writing, who has paid what, and whether the property qualifies for special protections under Florida’s heirs property statute. Getting those facts organized early shapes everything that follows.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Partition and Co-Owner Disputes

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business litigation and real estate firm serving Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and the rest of Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation and has practiced in Florida since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. His career has centered on contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders, which is exactly the kind of history that sits behind many partition cases. A great deal of the property that ends up in a partition suit was bought by former business partners, inherited by siblings, or held by investors whose deal soured.

Partition work draws on several skills at once: reading deeds and operating agreements, tracing who contributed money to a property, and arguing before a judge sitting in equity. Our firm also handles title disputes and quiet title actions, so when a partition case reveals a cloud on title, we can address it within the same engagement. Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel and a Northwestern-trained litigator, brings years of business and real estate experience in state and federal courts. The firm practices as a true legal team, meaning everyone working on your matter knows the file, and we keep a strict 24 hour return call policy.

The firm has a track record on the real estate side that matters to anyone weighing litigation. After a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Partition cases are also decided by a judge without a jury, and the discipline of building a record for a bench trial carries directly over. We also look for resolution through mediation and arbitration when that serves the client, because a negotiated buyout often beats an auction in both cost and result.

Situations That Lead to Partition Actions in Deerfield Beach

• Former Business Partners Holding Property Together: Two investors buy a condo building or a retail strip through an LLC or as tenants in common, the venture sours, and one wants cash while the other wants to keep the asset. The operating agreement, if there is one, may control the exit, and the partition claim may need to be paired with claims over contributions and distributions.
• Siblings and Relatives Who Inherited a Home: Brothers and sisters who inherit a Deerfield Beach house often disagree about whether to sell, rent, or let one of them live there. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act can apply when the property is held in tenancy in common, no binding agreement governs partition, and at least some interests came from a relative, which gives the other cotenants a right to buy out the one seeking partition.
• Unmarried Couples With Shared Title: Partners who bought a home together without marrying have no divorce court to divide it. Partition, along with claims for unequal contributions to the down payment and mortgage, is often the only structured route to separating.
• Investors in Shared Real Estate Ventures: Co-investors in rental property or a commercial parcel may disagree about holding versus selling, or one may stop paying their share of carrying costs. Partition can force the question when the agreement offers no exit.
• Out-of-State Owners With a Florida Interest: Owners in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut frequently hold a share of South Florida property with a relative or partner who lives here. We handle the local filings and appearances so the out-of-state owner does not need to travel for each hearing.
• Co-Owners Who Cannot Agree on Use or Costs: One owner occupies the property rent-free, another pays the taxes and insurance, and the third contributes nothing. These imbalances shape what each party is credited or charged when the property is divided or sold.
• Properties With Competing Ownership Claims: Sometimes the first fight is over who owns what share. A quiet title action under Chapter 65 can resolve competing claims, and a plaintiff generally must trace the chain of title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise.

How a Florida Partition Case Is Built and Decided

All partition actions in Florida are brought in the circuit court sitting in equity under Chapter 64 of the Florida Statutes. The complaint has to describe the land, name the owners and where they live, state what share each holds, and include whatever else the court needs to sort out the parties’ rights. That sounds mechanical, but errors here, such as omitting a lienholder, a surviving spouse, or an heir, can slow the case or leave a title defect that scares off buyers later. Part of what we do at the start is run the title history so the complaint names everyone who has to be in the case.

Once the court determines the parties’ interests and enters a judgment of partition, it appoints three commissioners, chosen by the court unless the parties agree on who they should be. The commissioners examine the property and report whether it can be divided fairly. If the land can be split without prejudice to the owners, it is divided in kind. If it cannot, which is common with a single-family house or a small commercial building, the court may order a sale at public auction to the highest bidder and divide the proceeds in proportion to each owner’s interest. The court can allow a sale on reasonable credit for good cause, but at least one-third of the purchase money must be paid down unless every party consents to different terms.

Heirs property cases follow a different track. When the court finds the property is heirs property, Part II of Chapter 64 governs unless all cotenants agree otherwise in a record. Partition in kind is not entered unless the court is satisfied the commissioners weighed the statutory factors and concluded that dividing the land would prejudice the cotenants as a group. The practical effect is a procedure that gives family members who want to keep the property a real chance to buy out the others, rather than watching it go to auction.

Our role in these cases is hands-on. We assemble the deeds, mortgage records, tax payments, and proof of improvements; we calculate contribution and accounting claims so the owner who carried the property is credited; we negotiate buyouts when one side wants to keep the asset; and we advocate before the court on whether division in kind is workable or sale is the only fair result. When the other side is moving to sell, encumber, or strip value from the property, we can seek injunctive relief to hold things in place while the case is pending.

What to Do Now if You Co-Own Property That Is Headed Toward Court

Start by gathering the paper. You need the deed or deeds showing how title is held, any operating agreement, partnership agreement, or co-ownership agreement, the closing statement, mortgage statements, and records of who paid property taxes, insurance, repairs, and improvements. Add rent or occupancy records if anyone has been collecting income or living in the property. These documents determine not only whether partition is available but how the accounting between owners will come out. If the property came to you through a relative, collect the will, any probate paperwork, and a family tree showing who holds an interest, because heirs property status turns on those facts.

Avoid the common mistakes. Do not lock an owner out, change the locks, or cut off access without advice; that can create liability and hand the other side a counterclaim. Do not sign a buyout offer or a quitclaim deed because a co-owner presented it as routine. Do not stop paying taxes or the mortgage to pressure the other owners, since a default hurts everyone and can lead to a lien or foreclosure that erodes the equity you are fighting over. If you have received a partition complaint, calendar the response deadline immediately and bring us the papers right away.

On the court side, partition cases are filed in circuit court, which in Broward County is the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. A complaint can be filed in any county where part of the land sits, so a Deerfield Beach property in Broward goes to the Broward courts, which also run complex business divisions for certain large business disputes. Broward’s North Regional Courthouse is located in Deerfield Beach, and the main civil operations are at the Central Judicial Complex in Fort Lauderdale. If the dispute involves property in Palm Beach County, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit handles it. Federal court is rarely the venue for a straightforward partition, but the Southern District of Florida covers both counties if a case belongs there for other reasons.

Finally, talk to us before you file or answer. A short review of title and your agreements can reveal whether the better path is partition, a negotiated buyout, a judicial dissolution of the entity that holds the property, or a claim for an accounting. Dissolution is a real consideration when the property sits inside an LLC or corporation, and Florida law gives courts tools such as receivers, custodians, and buyout elections in those proceedings. The right vehicle depends on how the property is held.

Partition When the Property Is Owned Through an LLC or Corporation

Many Deerfield Beach co-owners do not hold title personally. The building is owned by an LLC, and the dispute is among its members. In that setting a classic partition action is usually the wrong tool, because the members own interests in the company, not the real estate itself. The path to separation runs through the operating agreement and through Florida’s business entity statutes.

For an LLC, a court may order judicial dissolution on a member’s petition when grounds exist, including that it is not reasonably practicable to carry on the company’s activities under its articles and operating agreement, that controlling members are acting illegally or fraudulently, that assets are being misappropriated or wasted to the company’s injury, or that the managers or members are deadlocked and irreparable injury to the company is threatened or occurring. In those proceedings the court can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest. If the operating agreement has a deadlock sale provision that is initiated before the court finds deadlock grounds, that provision generally applies in place of a dissolution order, so the timing of who invokes what can matter a great deal.

For a corporation, a shareholder can seek judicial dissolution on specified grounds, and the corporation or other shareholders can elect to buy out the petitioner at fair value. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days after the first election is filed, the court enters an order directing the purchase on those terms. Within 30 days of the start of such a case the corporation must tell the other shareholders they can avoid dissolution by electing to buy. Courts can also issue injunctions and appoint a receiver or custodian to preserve assets while the case proceeds.

Because Andrew Schwartz’s practice has long been built around partner, member, and shareholder conflicts, we often sort out at the outset whether a dispute is a partition case, a dissolution case, or both. Filing the wrong action first can cost months and invite procedural objections.

Partition Action Questions Answered

What is a partition action?

It is a lawsuit in which a co-owner asks the court to end the co-ownership of real property. The court either divides the land among the owners or, when division would not be fair or practical, orders it sold and splits the proceeds according to each owner’s share.

Can one co-owner force the others to sell?

Generally, yes. A co-owner has a right to seek partition, and when a property cannot be divided without prejudice to the owners, a court may order a sale at public auction. Written agreements among the owners, the way title is held, and the heirs property statute can limit or reshape that right.

How are the proceeds divided after a sale?

They are divided in proportion to each owner’s interest, after the court accounts for matters such as liens, costs of sale, and credits or charges between owners for things like taxes paid, improvements, or one owner’s exclusive use of the property.

What is heirs property, and why does it matter?

Heirs property is real property held as tenants in common where no binding agreement among all cotenants governs partition, at least one cotenant acquired title from a relative, and another statutory condition is met, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests. If a court finds property is heirs property, Part II of Chapter 64 controls, and it gives family members who want to keep the home a structured chance to buy out those seeking partition.

Do commissioners decide who gets what?

After a judgment of partition, the court appoints three commissioners, chosen by the court unless the parties agree. They evaluate whether the property can be divided without prejudice to the owners and report to the court, which makes the final determination.

Can the property be sold on payment terms instead of all cash?

The court may allow a sale on reasonable credit for good cause, but at least one-third of the purchase money must be paid down unless all parties consent otherwise.

What if my partner and I own the property through an LLC?

Then the dispute usually belongs under the operating agreement and Florida’s LLC statute rather than a traditional partition suit. Remedies can include judicial dissolution, a court-ordered purchase of a member’s interest, or a receiver or custodian, depending on the grounds and the agreement.

Can I stop a co-owner from selling or borrowing against the property while the case is pending?

Often there are tools for that. Where a co-owner is moving assets, encumbering title, or otherwise threatening the property, a court can grant temporary injunctive relief to preserve the status quo while the dispute is resolved. Whether it is appropriate depends on the facts and the evidence of harm.

Is there a time limit for bringing a claim related to a co-owned property?

It depends on the claim. A claim on a written contract has a five-year limitations period, an oral or implied contract claim has four years, and fraud has four years from discovery subject to an outer cap of 12 years. Specific performance of a contract has a one-year period. Because the deadline attached to the underlying claim can be much shorter than people expect, early review matters.

Does a co-owner who has lived in the property for years gain ownership?

Not automatically. Adverse possession in Florida requires actual, continuous possession for seven years under a claim of title exclusive of any other right, along with other statutory steps. A co-owner in possession is usually presumed to hold for all owners, which makes such claims hard to win without clear hostile acts.

Do I have to come to Florida for every hearing if I live out of state?

No. We handle the Florida court appearances and proceedings for out-of-state clients and keep you informed at each stage, including through scheduled conference calls.

Is a partition action always the best route?

No. Many co-owner disputes settle through a negotiated buyout, mediation, or a structured sale, and a court-ordered auction can leave all owners with less than a private sale would have produced. We evaluate the options with you before recommending litigation.

Serving Deerfield Beach and Surrounding South Florida Communities

We represent co-owners in Deerfield Beach and throughout Broward County, including Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point, Hillsboro Beach, Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Parkland, Margate, Tamarac, Sunrise, Plantation, Davie, Hollywood, and Fort Lauderdale. Our work extends north into Palm Beach County, where we serve clients in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, and Wellington. Whether the property is a waterfront home, a condo unit, an apartment building, or a commercial parcel, the partition and title issues are similar, and our attorneys regularly appear in both the Seventeenth and Fifteenth Judicial Circuits. We also work with clients in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own a share of South Florida property with a relative or business partner.

Talk With a Deerfield Beach Partition Action Lawyer Before the Deadline or the Auction Date

If you are weighing a partition suit, or you have been served with one, a conversation with our team can clarify whether partition, a buyout, or another remedy fits your situation. As a Deerfield Beach partition action lawyer team, we will review how title is held, what the owners agreed to, and what the property and the contributions to it are worth, then explain the realistic paths forward. Contact the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to schedule a consultation.