Lantana Real Estate Attorney

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents property owners, investors, business partners, and families in Lantana and across Palm Beach County and Broward County, handling real estate transactions and the disputes that grow out of them. A Lantana real estate attorney is most often needed after something has gone wrong: a buyer or seller walks away from a signed contract, co-owners cannot agree on whether to keep or sell a property, or a competing claim to title surfaces after the deal is done. Those are the situations our firm handles.

Real estate disputes run on clocks that many owners do not know exist. A suit for specific performance of a purchase contract has a one-year limitations period under Florida law, far shorter than the five years allowed for most written-contract claims. An owner who waits on the assumption that there is plenty of time can lose the one remedy that would actually deliver the property. The decisions made in the first weeks, including whether to demand performance, whether to record notice of the claim, and whether to seek emergency relief, often shape everything that follows.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Lantana Property Disputes

The Andrew M. Andrew M. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989. Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator, brings years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts. We serve clients in Lantana, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and throughout Palm Beach and Broward Counties, along with clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own property or hold business interests in South Florida.

The firm’s results include a final judgment issued in May 2024, after a five-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. The judgment ran 32 pages. That outcome reflects the kind of case we are built for: disputes that turn on the precise wording of an agreement and the history of the parties’ dealings, where the goal is to get the client the property rather than a payment in lieu of it.

The firm works as a true legal team, so everyone on a matter knows the file, and we keep a strict 24 hour return call policy when we are in court. Our attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and we look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget. A meaningful share of our work comes from referrals by other attorneys, including out of state lawyers whose clients have property disputes in Florida. For out of state owners, we handle the local appearances so you do not have to travel for each hearing.

Real Estate Problems We Handle for Lantana Owners and Investors

• Failed Closings and Purchase Contract Disputes: When a buyer defaults or a seller refuses to close, the remedies include damages, rescission, and specific performance. The choice among them depends on the contract language and on how quickly you act, since specific performance carries the shortest limitations period.
• Partition Actions: Florida law lets a co-owner ask the court to divide jointly held property or, when division is impractical, to order a sale and split the proceeds. These cases arise among former business partners, siblings, unmarried couples, and investors who want out.
• Heirs Property: Property inherited among relatives and held as tenants in common may be governed by Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, which adds protections before a court can order a forced sale.
• Quiet Title Actions: When a recorded instrument or a competing claim clouds ownership, a quiet title suit asks the court to determine who holds title and remove the cloud. The plaintiff generally must trace title back at least seven years.
• Adverse Possession Claims: A claimant may assert ownership after seven years of continuous possession, with or without color of title, but the statutory requirements are strict, including filing a return with the property appraiser that contains a full legal description.
• Landlord and Tenant Disputes: Commercial and residential landlords and tenants face short statutory notice periods, such as the three-day nonpayment notice and the seven-day curable and noncurable noncompliance notices, and mistakes in the notice can derail an eviction.
• Co-Owned Property Between Business Partners: When an LLC or partnership holds real estate and the owners deadlock, the property dispute and the business dispute become one case, sometimes requiring injunctive relief to keep assets in place.
• Title Disputes and Separating From Title: Clients who need to remove their name from a property they no longer control, or clear competing ownership claims, often need a court order rather than a quitclaim deed.

What to Do When a Property Dispute Lands on Your Desk

Start by pulling together the documents that define the dispute: the signed contract and every amendment, the deed and any recorded instruments, closing statements, correspondence, text messages, and proof of payments. In real estate cases, the paper record usually decides the outcome, and the first thing a lawyer will ask for is the instrument that creates the right you are claiming. If you are a co-owner, find the deed to see how title is held and whether any agreement among owners governs sale or partition.

Next, identify which deadline controls. A claim on a written contract generally has five years, an oral or implied contract four years, rescission four years, and fraud four years from discovery with an outer limit of twelve. Specific performance, which is often the remedy people want in a real estate deal, is one year. Negligence claims, such as those against a professional who mishandled a transaction, now run two years for causes of action that accrued after the 2023 amendments, and professional malpractice claims also carry two years from discovery. Because these periods differ so sharply, the label put on your claim matters.

If someone is moving, encumbering, or spending an asset while the dispute is pending, ask early about injunctive relief. Courts can act quickly when the facts show property or funds are at risk. Avoid the common mistakes: continuing to negotiate informally while a limitations period runs, signing a quitclaim or settlement document before understanding what it releases, and accepting partial rent from a tenant without following the statutory steps that preserve your position.

Cases for Lantana properties are filed in the circuit court for Palm Beach County, which sits in West Palm Beach, or in the circuit court for Broward County, which sits in Fort Lauderdale, when the land or the parties are there. A quiet title complaint may be filed in any county where part of the land lies. Disputes above the county court ceiling go to circuit court, and federal claims go to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. In Broward, a complex business division handles certain large business and construction disputes, which can matter when a property dispute is intertwined with a company dispute.

How Partition and Forced Sales Actually Work

Partition is more mechanical than most co-owners expect. The complaint must describe the land, name each owner and where they live, and state each owner’s share. If the court orders partition, it appoints three commissioners, chosen by the court unless the parties agree on them. If the commissioners conclude the property cannot be divided without prejudicing the owners, the court may order a public sale to the highest bidder and divide the proceeds by ownership share. A sale on credit is possible for good cause, but at least one-third of the price must be paid at the outset unless everyone consents otherwise.

Heirs property changes the analysis. When property is held as tenants in common, no binding agreement governs partition, at least one owner got title from a relative, and certain further conditions are met, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests, the court must follow the heirs property statute unless all cotenants agree otherwise. Partition in kind is favored in that framework, and a forced sale requires findings that dividing the land would prejudice the cotenants as a group. For a family that inherited a Lantana house or lot, this can mean the difference between keeping a share and being bought out at auction prices.

When the Property Is Owned Through a Company

Many real estate fights are really business fights. When an LLC owns the property and its members are deadlocked, Florida’s LLC Act allows a member or manager to seek judicial dissolution on grounds that include deadlock with threatened irreparable injury, misappropriation or waste of assets, and impracticability of operating under the operating agreement. The court may appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a buyout of the petitioning member’s interest. If the operating agreement contains a deadlock sale provision that has been initiated before the court finds grounds, that provision generally takes precedence.

Corporations have a parallel set of rules. In a shareholder-initiated dissolution case, the corporation or other shareholders may elect to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value, and if the parties agree on terms within 60 days of the first election, the court enters an order on those terms. Courts may issue injunctions and appoint a custodian while the case is pending. Knowing which exit is available, and which one serves your goals, is often the most consequential decision in the case.

Lantana Real Estate Questions We Hear Often

How long do I have to sue over a broken real estate contract in Florida?

It depends on the claim. A damages action on a written contract has five years, and one on an oral or implied contract has four. A suit asking the court to force the sale to close, which is specific performance, has just one year. Rescission and fraud claims have four years, with fraud running from discovery.

Can I force the sale of a property I co-own?

Generally yes. A co-owner can file a partition action asking the court to divide the property or order its sale. The court appoints commissioners to evaluate whether division is practical, and a sale proceeds by public auction with the proceeds split according to each owner’s share. Different rules apply to inherited heirs property.

What is heirs property and why does it matter?

It is jointly held property where no agreement governs partition, at least one owner received title from a relative, and certain further conditions apply, such as relatives holding at least twenty percent of the interests. If the court finds the property qualifies, the heirs property statute governs and makes a forced sale harder.

What does a quiet title action accomplish?

It asks the court to determine who owns the land and to cancel a conveyance or other instrument that clouds title when the person holding it is not the rightful owner. The plaintiff generally must trace title for at least seven years before filing.

Can someone take my property through adverse possession?

It is possible but demanding. The claimant must possess the property continuously for seven years under a claim of title exclusive of others, and without color of title must also meet the filing requirements that include a full legal description of the land claimed. Color of title claims require the instrument to be recorded.

Do I need a lawyer to evict a commercial or residential tenant?

The notice requirements are strict, and defective notices cause delay. For unpaid rent, the landlord delivers a written demand and the tenant has three days, excluding weekends and court-observed legal holidays, to pay or leave. Other violations have separate seven-day notices. Having counsel review the notice before it is served is worth the cost.

If I accept partial rent after serving a notice, do I lose my right to evict?

Not automatically. Florida law says accepting partial rent does not waive the right to terminate, but the landlord must follow one of the statutory approaches, such as giving a receipt that states the amount received and balance due, depositing the partial rent in the court registry, or serving a new three-day notice for the revised amount.

My business partner and I own real estate together and have stopped agreeing. What are my options?

They include a negotiated buyout, a deadlock sale provision if your agreement has one, partition of the real estate, or judicial dissolution of the entity. If assets are being diverted, emergency injunctive relief may be available. The right route depends on how title is held and what your operating or shareholder agreement says.

Can you handle a Lantana property case if I live in New York or New Jersey?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with property or business interests in South Florida. We handle the court appearances locally and keep you informed throughout, so you do not need to travel for each hearing.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if the dispute might settle?

Often, yes, because settlement leverage depends on whether the other side believes you will file and win. Our attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as trial, and many disputes resolve once the record is organized and the claim is framed correctly. Early review also protects you from limitations periods you might not have known about.

Which court decides a Lantana real estate dispute?

State cases above the county court limit are heard in circuit court, either the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit for Palm Beach County or the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit for Broward County. A quiet title action can be filed in any county where part of the land sits. Federal claims go to the Southern District of Florida.

Serving Real Estate Clients Across Lantana and South Florida

We begin in Lantana and the surrounding Palm Beach County communities, including Lake Worth Beach, Hypoluxo, Manalapan, Boynton Beach, Greenacres, Atlantis, Palm Springs, and Haverhill, and extend through West Palm Beach, Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, and Jupiter. In Broward County, we represent owners and investors in Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Coral Springs, Parkland, Hollywood, and Plantation. Clients with real estate interests anywhere in Palm Beach or Broward County, including those who live in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, can work with our team on partition, title, contract, and landlord-tenant disputes.

Talk With a Lantana Real Estate Lawyer About Your Property Dispute

If a contract has collapsed, a co-owner is pushing for a sale, or a claim to your title has surfaced, the options narrow as the deadlines approach. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your documents, identify which limitations period applies, and recommend whether to negotiate, mediate, or file. Call to speak with a Lantana real estate attorney about your situation and the path most likely to reach your goals.