Plantation Partition Action Attorney

Co-owning a house, a commercial building, or a parcel of land with someone you can no longer work with leaves you stuck: you cannot sell without them, you cannot force them to buy you out, and the carrying costs keep running either way. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents co-owners in business and real estate disputes throughout Broward County and Palm Beach County, and a Plantation partition action attorney is often the first call these owners make when negotiation has stalled.

Partition is the court process Florida provides for exactly this problem. Any co-owner of real property can ask a judge to end the shared ownership, either by physically dividing the land or, far more often with a house or a commercial building, by ordering a sale and splitting the money according to each owner’s share. Whether you are a former business partner, an heir, an investor, or someone who bought property with a friend or partner, the right to leave a co-ownership is built into Florida law. How you exercise it, and what you walk away with, depends on how the case is handled.

One point surprises many Plantation property owners: a partition case is not decided by who is more sympathetic. The court looks at who holds title, in what shares, and whether the property can fairly be divided. Disputes about who paid for what, who lived there, or who maintained the property are usually sorted out in an accounting alongside the partition rather than used to block it.

How Florida Partition Cases Actually Move Through Court

All partition actions in Florida are equitable proceedings heard in circuit court. For property in Plantation, that means the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County. The complaint has to describe the land, name each owner and where they live, and state the share each person holds, along with anything else the court needs to sort out the owners’ rights. Getting that pleading right matters, because an incomplete description of the owners or their interests can slow the case before it starts.

Once the court enters a judgment of partition, it appoints three commissioners to evaluate the property, selected by the court unless the parties agree on who they should be. If the commissioners report that the land cannot be divided without prejudice to the owners, and the court agrees, the property can be sold at public auction to the highest bidder, with the proceeds divided in proportion to each owner’s interest. In appropriate cases the court may allow a sale on credit for good cause, but at least one-third of the purchase money must be paid down unless every party consents otherwise.

Many owners never reach the auction stage. The prospect of a court-ordered sale, which rarely produces the best price, often pushes co-owners toward a negotiated buyout or an agreed private sale. Our attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and we look for the resolution that serves the client’s goals and budget.

Heirs Property and the Special Rules for Inherited Real Estate

If the property came to you through a family member, a different set of rules may apply. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, found in Part II of Chapter 64, governs partition actions filed on or after July 1, 2020. When the court determines the property qualifies as heirs property, it must follow that Act unless all the co-owners agree otherwise in a record.

Heirs property is real estate held as tenants in common where there is no binding agreement among all cotenants about partition, where at least one cotenant got title from a relative, and where one of the further statutory conditions is met. One of those conditions is that twenty percent or more of the interests are held by cotenants who are relatives of one another. The practical effect is protective: the Act makes it harder to force a quick sale of a family property, and a partition in kind is not entered unless the court is satisfied the commissioners considered the statutory factors and concluded that dividing the land physically would prejudice the owners as a group.

Whether you want to keep an inherited property or cash out of it, the heirs property classification changes your strategy. We evaluate it at the outset, before a complaint is drafted.

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

The Andrew M. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation, and he 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 centered on complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts between partners, LLC members, and shareholders, which is the kind of background partition cases between former business associates demand.

Andrew is joined by Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts. The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on a matter knows the file and can respond when a client calls, and we keep a strict 24 hour return call policy when we are in court or otherwise unavailable.

The firm regularly partitions property among former business partners, siblings who inherited together, unmarried couples, and investors who want out of a shared deal, and we also handle title disputes and quiet title actions when ownership itself is contested. As proof of what careful trial work can accomplish in real estate cases, after a 5-day bench trial a Broward County circuit court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. We also represent out of state clients, including many from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own a share of South Florida property, and we handle the local court appearances so they do not have to travel for every hearing.

Situations That Lead Plantation Co-Owners to Seek Partition

• Former Business Partners Holding Real Estate: When a company dissolves or the owners split, the building or land often remains in joint names. Partition resolves what the business divorce left behind, and it can be combined with claims for an accounting of rents and expenses.
• Siblings and Heirs Who Inherited Together: One heir wants to sell, another wants to keep the family home. If the property qualifies as heirs property, the special Part II procedures apply, including added protections against a forced auction.
• Unmarried Couples After a Breakup: Partners who bought a home together without marrying have no divorce court to divide it. Partition is the mechanism, and the deed and the contributions each person made drive the outcome.
• Investors Who Want Out of a Shared Purchase: Two or more people buy a rental or commercial property, and one later wants liquidity while the others do not. Without an exit clause in a written agreement, partition may be the only route.
• Co-Owners Who Stop Paying Their Share: When one owner carries the taxes, insurance, and repairs alone, that owner may be entitled to credit for those payments when the proceeds are divided.
• Competing Ownership Claims: Sometimes the first question is not how to divide the property but who actually owns it. A quiet title action can clear the record so a partition can proceed, or can remove a claim from someone who should not be on title at all.
• Commercial Property Held Through Entities: Where the owners hold shares of an LLC or corporation that owns the real estate, the right remedy may be dissolution or a buyout rather than partition, and choosing the wrong vehicle wastes time and money.

What to Do Now If You Co-Own Property You Want Out Of

Start by pulling the deed. Partition rights and shares depend on exactly how title is held, and the Broward County Clerk’s records will show whether you are a tenant in common, a joint tenant, or something else. If the property is held through a company, find the operating agreement or shareholder agreement; it may already contain a buyout, exit, or deadlock sale provision that controls how the owners separate.

Next, gather proof of what each owner has put in: mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, repair invoices, and any rent collected or owed. These numbers matter when the court sorts out contributions and credits. Also check for any written agreement among the owners, because the existence of a binding agreement affects which rules apply, particularly for inherited property.

Before filing anything, consider whether a direct offer or mediation makes sense. A negotiated sale or buyout usually costs less and nets more than a contested case that ends in auction. If talks fail, the complaint is filed in the circuit court for the county where the property sits. Plantation properties are in Broward County, and the Seventeenth Circuit’s West Regional Courthouse in Plantation is one of the Broward courthouses where civil matters are heard. Broward’s complex business division handles certain larger business disputes, and a case can be filed directly into it only by following the circuit’s administrative order, so a partition tied to a business dissolution may belong there.

The most common mistakes are waiting while carrying costs pile up, stopping payments on a mortgage out of frustration, changing locks or excluding a co-owner, and assuming a handshake agreement will hold. If you suspect the other owner is moving funds or encumbering the property, tell your attorney immediately, because emergency injunctive relief may be available to freeze the situation while the case proceeds. Be mindful, too, of deadlines in related claims: a written contract claim generally carries a five-year limitations period, an oral one four years, and a specific performance action one year.

Questions Plantation Owners Ask About Partition

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

Generally, yes. A co-owner has a right to seek partition, and if the property cannot be divided fairly, the court can order a sale. Heirs property and agreements among the owners can change the analysis, so the details matter.

How is the sale price determined?

If the court orders a sale, the statute provides for a public auction to the highest bidder. In practice, many owners avoid that by agreeing to a private sale or a buyout at a negotiated price, which tends to produce a better result than auction.

Who are the commissioners in a partition case?

After a judgment of partition, the court appoints three suitable persons as commissioners. The court selects them unless the parties agree on who they should be. They evaluate whether the property can be divided and report back to the court.

Can the court divide the property instead of selling it?

Yes, when physical division is practical and fair. That is realistic with larger tracts of land but rarely with a single house or a commercial building, which is why sales are far more common.

Do I have to pay the other owners’ share of the mortgage and taxes?

Not automatically, but an owner who pays more than a fair share of the carrying costs can often claim credit for the excess when proceeds are divided. Keep records of every payment you make.

What happens to the proceeds?

After the sale, proceeds are divided among the owners in proportion to their interests, after costs and any adjustments the court makes for contributions and liens.

My siblings and I inherited a house. Does anything protect us from a forced sale?

Possibly. If the property qualifies as heirs property, Florida’s heirs property act requires the court to follow special procedures, including a consideration of whether physical division would prejudice the owners, before ordering a sale. A family relationship among at least twenty percent of the interest holders is one qualifying condition.

Can I file for partition if I live out of state?

Yes. Many of our clients live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut and own part of a Florida property. We handle the local filings and court appearances and keep you informed so you do not need to travel for every hearing.

What if my partner and I disagree about who owns the property in the first place?

Then ownership may need to be resolved first. A quiet title action lets a court determine competing claims and remove clouds from title. Florida requires the plaintiff to trace title back at least seven years before filing, unless the court orders otherwise.

Does a partition action affect a company that owns the property?

It can. If an LLC or corporation holds title, the owners’ remedies run through business law instead. A court can dissolve an LLC when members are deadlocked and irreparable injury threatens the company, or when assets are being misappropriated, and a shareholder buyout election is available in corporate dissolution cases. Choosing the correct remedy is a threshold decision.

How long does a partition case take?

It depends on whether the parties contest ownership, shares, or the right to partition, and on whether a sale is ordered. An agreed resolution can be much faster than a fully litigated case that goes through commissioners and a court-supervised sale.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if we both want out and mostly agree?

Often yes. Even an amicable separation requires accurate title work, a fair allocation of expenses and credits, and a binding written agreement or court order. Small oversights at the start tend to turn into disputes later.

Serving Partition Clients From Plantation Across South Florida

We represent co-owners in Plantation and throughout Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Sunrise, Davie, Weston, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coconut Creek, Margate, Tamarac, Lauderhill, and Parkland. Our reach extends north into Palm Beach County, where we serve clients in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Wellington, and surrounding communities.

Many of the people who call us own property here but live elsewhere. We regularly work with clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut whose business partners, siblings, or co-investors hold an interest in South Florida real estate, and we also take referrals from other attorneys whose clients need a Florida partition or title action handled locally.

Talk With a Plantation Partition Attorney About Ending a Co-Ownership

If a shared property has become a source of conflict, expense, or paralysis, the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review how title is held, explain what the court will and will not do, and help you choose between a negotiated exit and a contested case. Contact our team to discuss your co-ownership dispute and learn which path best fits your goals and budget.