Fort Lauderdale Partition Action Attorney

A partition case filed over Fort Lauderdale property is heard by the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County, and the case begins with a question that has nothing to do with who is right: can this property be physically divided, or does it have to be sold? Answer that wrong and a client can end up with a forced auction of an asset they wanted to keep. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents co-owners, investors, heirs, and former business partners in partition actions and related real estate disputes across Fort Lauderdale and Broward County, and also in Palm Beach County.

Under Chapter 64 of the Florida Statutes, partition actions belong in the circuit court’s equity jurisdiction. Any co-owner may ask the court to end the co-ownership, whether the other owners agree or not. A Fort Lauderdale partition action attorney earns the fee in the choices made before and during that process: whether to negotiate a buyout instead, whether to ask for a sale or a division, how to account for the mortgage payments, taxes, and repairs one owner has been carrying alone, and how to avoid a sale at a price far below what the property would bring on the open market.

How a Partition Case Is Built and Decided in Broward County

The complaint is not a form letter. Florida’s partition statute requires it to describe the land, name each owner and where each lives, state the share each holds, and include whatever else the court needs to decide the parties’ rights. Mistakes here, such as omitting a lienholder, a spouse with an interest, or an heir, can stall the case or leave a judgment that does not bind everyone it needs to.

Once the court enters a judgment of partition, it appoints three commissioners, chosen by the court unless the parties agree on who they should be. The commissioners decide whether the property can be divided without prejudice to the owners. For a single-family home, a condominium unit, or a commercial building in Fort Lauderdale, physical division is rarely realistic. When the commissioners report that division would prejudice the owners and the court agrees, the court may order the property sold at public auction to the highest bidder, with proceeds divided according to each owner’s interest.

The sale terms matter. A 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 every party consents to different terms. Those mechanics affect who can realistically bid and what the property is likely to bring, which is why a co-owner who wants to keep the property often needs a plan to buy out the others before an auction is ordered.

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

The Andrew M. Andrew M. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. Partnership breakups, disputes among LLC members and shareholders, and conflicts over jointly owned property are the core of his practice, which is why partition cases that grow out of a failed business relationship fit so naturally here.

Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, is a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts. The firm works as a true legal team, so everyone on a matter knows the file, and it keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court. Clients who live out of state, including those from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own a share of Broward property, can rely on the firm to handle local court appearances without traveling for every hearing. A significant part of the practice also comes from referrals by other attorneys.

On the real estate side, the firm’s record includes a recent five-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court that ended in a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That is the kind of detailed, document-driven trial work partition and title cases demand. The firm is also experienced in mediation and arbitration, and it looks for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

Situations That Lead to Partition Actions and Title Disputes

• Former Business Partners Holding Real Estate: Two investors buy a Broward property through an entity or as individuals, the venture sours, and neither will agree to sell or buy out the other. Partition is often paired with claims over contributions, distributions, and breaches of the operating agreement.
• Siblings and Heirs Who Inherited Together: When a parent’s home or investment property passes to several children, one may want to sell while another lives there or wants to keep it. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act can change the process in these cases, including how the property is valued and whether other cotenants get a chance to buy out the person seeking partition.
• Unmarried Couples: Couples who bought a Fort Lauderdale condo or house together without marrying have no divorce court to divide it. Partition is frequently the path, often alongside a claim for unequal contributions to the down payment or mortgage.
• Passive Investors Who Want Out: A co-owner in a shared rental or commercial property may no longer be able to exit voluntarily because the others refuse to sell. Partition gives that owner a route to liquidity.
• Quiet Title Actions: Where competing ownership claims, a stale conveyance, or a recorded instrument clouds title, a quiet title action under Chapter 65 asks the court to determine who owns the land. The plaintiff generally must trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise, and the suit may be filed in any county where part of the land sits.
• Disputes Over Money Tied to the Property: One owner has paid the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and repairs while another collected rent or contributed nothing. Those claims are typically resolved through the accounting between cotenants when the property is divided or sold.
• Dissolving the Entity That Owns the Property: If the property sits inside an LLC or corporation, the remedy may be judicial dissolution rather than partition. Florida’s LLC statute allows a court to dissolve an LLC when members are deadlocked and irreparable injury is threatened, when assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or when it is not reasonably practicable to carry on the business under the operating agreement.

What to Do When a Co-Owner Will Not Cooperate

The first step is to gather the paper. Collect the deed, any recorded agreements, the operating agreement or partnership agreement if an entity holds title, mortgage statements, tax bills, insurance records, and proof of who has paid what and when. Disputes over reimbursement are won on documents, and a client who can show a clean payment history starts in a stronger position than one relying on memory.

Second, check whether an agreement already controls the outcome. Some co-ownership agreements waive partition, set a buyout formula, or require mediation first. If the property is held through an LLC or corporation, a deadlock sale provision in the governing agreement may apply, and under Florida’s statutes such a provision can take priority over a judicial dissolution order if it is invoked before the court finds that deadlock grounds exist. Filing the wrong kind of case first can waste months.

Third, decide what outcome you actually want: sale and division of proceeds, a buyout of the other owners, or keeping the property and paying out a co-owner. That choice drives strategy. If you want to stay, an early, well-documented buyout offer is often better than waiting for a court-ordered auction.

Cases of this kind are filed in circuit court. In Broward County, partition and title cases are heard in the circuit civil division of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Fort Lauderdale, and some business-entity disputes can be routed to the circuit’s complex business division. If you own property in Palm Beach County, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit handles it. A quiet title case can be filed in any county where part of the land lies, so the venue decision itself deserves thought.

Avoid the common mistakes: changing the locks or cutting off a co-owner’s access without legal advice, collecting rent without tracking it, letting taxes or insurance lapse, or signing a deed or listing agreement before the rights among owners are settled. If assets or rents are at risk of being diverted, a request for emergency injunctive relief may be needed while the case is pending.

Partition Compared With Other Ways to End Co-Ownership

Partition is a remedy of last resort, not a first move. A negotiated buyout usually yields a better price than an auction, and a private sale gives owners control over timing and buyer. Mediation is often worth trying early, and the firm’s attorneys are experienced in both mediation and arbitration. When one owner will not engage, partition gives the other a guaranteed exit.

Timing and limits on related claims also matter. A claim on a written agreement generally has a five-year limitations period, while a claim on an oral or implied agreement has four years. A claim for specific performance has a one-year period. Those deadlines do not govern the right to seek partition itself, but they do control the side claims that usually travel with it, such as breach of an agreement between owners or fraud in how the property was acquired. Waiting while a co-owner builds a record of exclusive possession can also create adverse possession arguments over a period of seven years, so delay is rarely free.

Questions About Partition Actions in Fort Lauderdale

Can one co-owner force the sale of a Fort Lauderdale property?

Generally yes. Any co-owner may ask the court to partition jointly owned property, even over the objection of the others. If the court finds the property cannot be divided fairly, it can order a sale and divide the proceeds by ownership share, unless an agreement among the owners limits that right.

What is the difference between partition in kind and partition by sale?

Partition in kind physically divides the land into separate parcels. Partition by sale converts the property to cash. For houses, condominiums, and most commercial buildings, division is impractical, so sale is the more common result.

Who decides whether the property is divided or sold?

The court enters a judgment of partition and appoints three commissioners, picked by the court unless the parties agree. They report whether division can be made without prejudice to the owners. The court makes the final decision on whether to order a sale.

Is the property sold at auction?

If the court orders a sale, it is typically a public auction to the highest bidder. The court may allow credit terms for good cause, but at least one-third of the purchase money must be paid at the outset unless all parties consent to something different.

Does the heirs property law apply to my family’s property?

It may. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies to partition actions filed on or after July 1, 2020, where the property is held as tenants in common with no binding partition agreement, at least one cotenant acquired title from a relative, and further conditions are met, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests. If it applies, the court must use that Act’s procedures unless all cotenants agree otherwise in a record.

What if I paid the mortgage and taxes while my co-owner paid nothing?

Those payments can be raised as claims for reimbursement or credit when the court sorts out the parties’ interests. Records matter, so keep statements, receipts, and proof of payment.

Can a partition action be stopped if we have a written agreement against it?

Possibly. Co-ownership agreements sometimes waive partition, require a buyout formula, or call for mediation first. The terms of that agreement, and whether it binds everyone with an interest, determine whether a court will enforce it.

My business partner and I own property through an LLC. Is partition the right remedy?

Often not. When an entity holds title, the members own interests in the LLC, not the real estate itself. The better route may be judicial dissolution, a buyout, or a deadlock sale provision in the operating agreement. A receiver or custodian can be appointed in an LLC dissolution case after notice and a hearing, if the claim has sufficient merit.

How is a quiet title action different from partition?

Partition ends co-ownership among people who agree they own the property together. A quiet title action resolves competing claims about who owns it at all, or removes a cloud on title from a deed or recorded instrument. They are sometimes filed together or one after the other.

I live in New York or New Jersey. Do I have to come to Fort Lauderdale for a partition case?

Not for every hearing. The firm represents out-of-state owners of South Florida property, handles local court appearances, and keeps clients informed at each stage.

Can a partition case settle before trial?

Yes, and many do. Buyouts, agreed sales, and structured payouts are common, often after mediation. The pending lawsuit often creates the leverage that makes a fair negotiated deal possible.

Serving Partition and Real Estate Clients Across Broward and Palm Beach Counties

The firm’s partition and title work starts in Fort Lauderdale and extends throughout Broward County: Las Olas, Victoria Park, Rio Vista, Coral Ridge, Wilton Manors, Oakland Park, Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point, Deerfield Beach, Coral Springs, Parkland, Plantation, Sunrise, Davie, Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, and Dania Beach. Co-owners in the western suburbs and along the coast alike can rely on the team for litigation and negotiation. Disputes can also be heard in federal court when jurisdiction exists, and the Southern District of Florida holds court in both Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

The firm also serves clients in Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, and Wellington. Clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold interests in South Florida property are represented throughout the region as well.

Speak With a Fort Lauderdale Partition Attorney

If a co-owner is blocking a sale, refusing a buyout, or leaving you to carry the costs of a shared property, talk with a Fort Lauderdale partition attorney at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team before the situation hardens. Call to schedule a consultation, bring your deed and any agreements among the owners, and get a clear assessment of whether partition, a buyout, dissolution, or a title action fits your facts.