Tamarac Partition Action Attorney

Getting out of a shared property, or forcing a fair division of it, is the goal behind nearly every partition case. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents co-owners of real estate in Tamarac and across Broward County and Palm Beach County who need a court to divide a property or order it sold when the owners cannot agree. A Tamarac partition action attorney can tell you quickly whether your situation calls for a lawsuit, a negotiated buyout, or something in between.

Co-ownership in Tamarac takes many forms: condominium units and townhomes held by former business partners, a house left to siblings, a property bought by an unmarried couple who have since split, or an investment shared by people who now want different things. In each, one owner wants out and another refuses to cooperate, or one owner is sitting on the property and shutting the others out. Florida law gives every co-owner a path forward, and that path runs through the circuit court.

How Florida Partition Law Works for Co-Owners

Partition is governed by Chapter 64 of the Florida Statutes, and all partition actions are brought in the court’s equity side. The complaint has to describe the land, identify each owner and where they live, and state what share each holds. The court then decides each party’s rights before anything is divided or sold.

If the court orders partition, it appoints three commissioners to examine the property, and the parties can agree on who they are. If the commissioners report that the land cannot be divided without prejudice to the owners, the court may order a sale at public auction and split the proceeds in proportion to each owner’s interest. A court can allow a sale on credit for good cause, but at least one-third of the purchase price must be paid down unless every party agrees otherwise.

Most Tamarac properties, such as condo units, villas, and single-family homes on modest lots, cannot be sensibly cut in pieces, so sale and division of proceeds is the usual result. That makes the fight about timing, valuation, and who gets to buy whom out, and good preparation matters more than any single hearing.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Partition Cases

The Andrew M. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, has spent 37 years in litigation and has practiced in Florida since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. He holds a degree from Emory University and a law degree from the University of Miami. We serve clients in Tamarac, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and throughout Broward County and Palm Beach County, and we also act for clients in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold South Florida property.

Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator, brings years of business and real estate experience in state and federal courts. The firm works as a true team, so everyone on your file knows it, and we keep a strict 24 hour return call policy. We are also experienced in mediation and arbitration, and we look for the resolution that fits your goals and budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake.

Partition cases often grow out of broken business relationships, and that is where our practice is deepest. In a recent matter, after a five-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Detailed trial preparation on property disputes is what we bring to partition and title cases.

Situations That Lead to Partition and Title Litigation

• Former Business Partners Holding Property: When a company or partnership dissolves and the real estate was held jointly, partition is often the cleanest way to end the entanglement, sometimes alongside a business divorce.
• Inherited Property Among Siblings or Relatives: Heirs who take title together often disagree about selling, renting, or keeping the home. Florida has a separate statutory framework for heirs property, covered below.
• Unmarried Couples Who Bought Together: With no divorce court to sort out the asset, a partition action is frequently the only way for one partner to exit shared title.
• Investor Groups Who Want Out: An owner who wants to cash out of a shared investment can ask the court to divide or sell when the others refuse to buy or sell.
• Co-Owner Exclusion or Refusal to Pay: One owner may occupy the property, collect rent, or stop paying expenses. These facts shape how proceeds and credits are sorted out at the end.
• Competing Ownership Claims: Where title is clouded, a quiet title action under Chapter 65 lets the court decide who owns the land and cancel evidence of title held by someone who is not the rightful owner.
• Adverse Possession Claims: A co-occupant or neighbor claiming ownership through long possession raises a different set of requirements, including seven years of continuous possession under a claim of title.

What to Do If You Are Stuck in a Shared Property in Tamarac

Start by gathering the paper. You need the deed or deeds, any trust or estate documents, the operating or partnership agreement if a company owns the property, the mortgage statements, tax bills, insurance policies, and records of who has paid what. A written agreement among the owners about how to handle a sale or exit can change the whole analysis, so find it before you do anything else.

Next, stop making informal side deals. Texts and emails promising a buyout price or a move-out date can come back as evidence. Keep a clean record of your own payments toward taxes, repairs, and the mortgage, since those contributions can matter when the proceeds are divided.

Talk to a lawyer before you file or respond to a filing. Partition cases for Tamarac property are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County, and a quiet title case may be filed in any county where part of the land lies. If the property or a related business dispute is in Palm Beach County, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit would be the court. Both the circuit and county civil courts have dollar-based jurisdiction rules, and a partition of real property is a circuit court matter.

Do not change the locks, cut off a co-owner, or stop paying the mortgage out of frustration. Each can create counterclaims or damage the property you are trying to sell. If assets are at risk of being moved or the property is being damaged, we can seek temporary or emergency injunctive relief while the case proceeds.

Also consider whether a negotiated exit makes sense first. A buyout at an agreed appraisal, or a listing arrangement with court-supervised proceeds, often costs less and ends sooner than an auction. We pursue that path when it serves you, and litigate when it does not.

Heirs Property and Special Partition Rules

If the property came through a relative and is held as tenants in common, a separate set of rules may apply. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act covers partition actions filed on or after July 1, 2020. Property qualifies when there is no binding agreement among all co-owners about partition, at least one co-owner took title from a relative, and another listed condition is met, such as twenty percent or more of the interests being held by co-owners who are relatives.

When the act applies, the court must follow it unless every co-owner agrees otherwise in a record. A partition in kind is not entered unless the court is satisfied that the commissioners weighed the statutory factors and found that dividing the land would prejudice the co-owners as a group. The act is designed to give family members a fair chance to keep property that auction would otherwise strip away.

When Partition Overlaps With a Business Divorce

Many of our partition cases sit next to a company dispute. If an LLC owns the property, the question may be dissolution rather than partition. A Florida circuit court may dissolve an LLC at the request of a member or manager on grounds including deadlock that threatens irreparable injury, misappropriation or waste of assets, or when it is not reasonably practicable to carry on the business under the operating agreement. A court can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest.

For corporations, a shareholder may seek judicial dissolution on statutory grounds, and the corporation or other shareholders can elect to buy the petitioner’s shares 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. Choosing between partition, dissolution, and a buyout early shapes cost and leverage, which is why we review the ownership structure before recommending a filing.

Partition Action Questions Tamarac Owners Ask

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

Generally, yes. A co-owner can ask the court for partition, and if the property cannot be fairly divided, the court may order it sold and the proceeds split by ownership share. A binding agreement among the owners can limit that right, so any written agreement should be reviewed first.

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

Partition in kind physically divides the land among the owners. Partition by sale happens when division would prejudice the owners, and the property is sold, usually at public auction, with the money divided. Condos, townhomes, and typical residential lots almost always end up in the second category.

How long does a partition case take?

It depends on whether the parties contest ownership shares, whether there are title problems, and how crowded the court calendar is. Cases that settle through a buyout can resolve far sooner than ones that go through commissioners and a court-ordered sale.

Does each owner get an equal share?

Not necessarily. Contributions to taxes, mortgage, and improvements, as well as rents collected by one owner, can be raised to adjust the final accounting.

Can one co-owner buy out the others instead of selling?

Yes. A negotiated buyout, often at an appraised value, is a common alternative and is often cheaper than an auction. The court can also be asked to account for one owner’s right to keep the property by compensating the others.

What if a co-owner is living in the property and refuses to leave?

An occupying co-owner generally has a right to possess the property, so the remedy is usually partition rather than eviction. Their use of the property, including any rent collected from others, can be addressed in the accounting that accompanies the case.

What counts as heirs property in Florida?

It is real property held in tenancy in common with no binding agreement among all co-owners on partition, where at least one co-owner got title from a relative and a further statutory condition is met, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests. If it qualifies, the heirs property rules govern the case.

Is a partition action different from a quiet title action?

Yes. Partition divides or sells property among people who agree they co-own it. Quiet title resolves who actually owns the land and can remove a cloud on title. Plaintiffs in a quiet title case must trace title for at least seven years before filing unless the court orders otherwise. Some disputes require both.

I live in New York or New Jersey. Can I handle this without traveling to Florida?

Often, yes. We regularly represent out of state owners of South Florida property, handle the court appearances, and keep you informed at each stage so you do not have to travel for every hearing.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if the property is not very valuable?

Often it is, because the cost of a drawn-out fight with a co-owner can exceed what is gained. A lawyer can evaluate early whether a buyout or mediated sale makes more sense than filing, and can tell you honestly when the amount at stake does not justify a full lawsuit.

Can a partition case be combined with a claim that my partner took company money?

Yes, when the facts overlap. Claims for an accounting, breach of fiduciary duty, and recovery of funds can proceed alongside property claims, and emergency relief may be available to stop assets from being moved or spent while the case is pending.

Serving Partition Clients Across Tamarac and South Florida

We represent co-owners in Tamarac and its neighbors in Broward County, including Sunrise, Lauderhill, Plantation, Coconut Creek, Margate, North Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Pembroke Pines, Davie, Weston, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. Property disputes often cross county lines, so we also handle matters in Palm Beach County communities such as Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth Beach, and West Palm Beach.

Whether the property is a condo near the Tamarac business district, a home in one of the city’s many age-restricted communities, or an investment parcel elsewhere in South Florida, the questions are the same: who owns what, what the property is worth, and how to separate on fair terms. Clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with a stake in South Florida real estate are equally welcome.

Talk to a Tamarac Partition Action Lawyer Today

If you are tied to a property with someone you can no longer work with, a Tamarac partition action lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your deed, your agreements, and your options, and tell you plainly whether to negotiate, mediate, or file. Call us to schedule a consultation and learn where you stand.