Real Estate Partition Action

NY Real Estate Partition Action Attorney | We Represent Co-owners of Real Estate in NY Real Estate Partition Actions | We Negotiate Sale or Buy-out of a Co-owner’s Interest in NY Real Estate

If you are a part owner of real estate in New York, you might find yourself in a situation where you and the other co-owners are no longer sharing the same goals regarding the ownership of the property. If you and the other co-owners inherited the property, you may each have different intentions regarding the property. For example, one co-owner may want to live in the property, while another may want to rent property to a tenant and receive the rental income. Alternatively, one co-owner may want to sell the property in order to convert his or her ownership interest in the property into cash.

If you want to sell your interest in the property, but the co-owner refuses to sell the property, you might offer to sell your interest to the other co-owner. If the co-owner refuses to either sell the property or to buy your ownership interest in the property, you might consider commencing a a Real Estate Partition Action.

Real Estate Partition Action in New York

Disputes between co-owners of real estate may occur if one of the co-owners lives in the property, but the other co-owner does not. Alternatively, if the co-owners purchased the property as an investment, they may not agree on important issues regarding the rental or management of the property. For example, one co-owner may want to invest substantial sums of money in renovating the property in order to maximize rental income, whereas another co-owner may not want to invest any additional money in the property. Also, the co-owners may have vastly different strategies on the timing of when the property should be sold.

If co-owners of real estate in New York State cannot agree on important issues regarding their co-ownership of the property, such as whether to hold or sell the property, or whether to rent the property, or on other significant aspects of the management of the property, a partition of the property may be the solution.

Voluntary Partition of New York Real Estate

The simplest way to resolve this is where the parties to voluntarily agree to either sell the property and distribute the proceeds, or for one co-owner to buy out the other co-owner’s interest in the property. The terms of the voluntary partition should be negotiated and memorialized in a written agreement signed by the parties and notarized. If the parties cannot agree on such a solution, it may be necessary to commence a New York partition action.

Lawsuit for Partition of New York Real Estate

New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL Article 9) permits a co-owner of real estate to bring a lawsuit for partition of the property (Real Estate Partition Action).  Partition is a remedy that is readily granted by the courts when the co-owners cannot agree on the management, use, or sale of the property.  However, the right to partition might be waived or otherwise restricted by a non-partition provision in a co-ownership agreement, or by a non-partition provision in a Last Will and Testament that resulted in the co-owners inheriting the property from the decedent.

Partition of Property Owned as Tenants in Common or Joint Tenants

A partition action may be brought, regardless of whether the property is owned as tenants in common, or joint tenants with right of survivorship. A partition action will usually not be an available remedy where the co-owners are terminating a marriage, or a registered domestic partnership.

Partition in Kind

In some situations, the court could direct a “partition in kind” or “actual partition” which means that each owner is granted complete control of a specific portion of the property. This could be a practical result in certain situations, such as where there are two comparable buildings on the property. Therefore, the court might direct that each co-owner be granted complete control or ownership of one of the buildings and half of the land.

Partition by Sale

In most situations, the property is not capable of being physically divided, or alternatively, a physical division of the property would be prejudicial to one or more of the co-owners, and therefore a “partition by sale” is a more practical solution. In this alternative, the court appoints a referee and directs that the referee sell the property, and that all outstanding mortgages and other liens be satisfied at the closing of title out of the sales proceeds, and that the remaining net proceeds be divided among the co-owners.

Division of the Net Sales Proceeds Among the Co-owners

In dividing the net sales proceeds after a partition by sale, the court may consider various factors in determining the equities of the partition and sale, including which co-owners contributed the down payment, which co-owners paid the real estate taxes, and other operating expenses of the property, including insurance, repairs, and improvements that were necessary for the maintenance and upkeep of the property, and which co-owners occupied the premises.

How Can a New York Real Estate Partition Action Attorney Help Resolve Disputes among Co-owners of Real Estate?

An experienced New York partition lawyer can help negotiate a settlement of a dispute among co-owners of real estate in New York without the need for a partition action, or alternatively can represent a client in bringing or defending a partition action. The New York partition lawyer may also facilitate the negotiation of a buyout of one of the co-owner’s interest in the real estate. Furthermore, a New York partition lawyer will represent his or her client’s interest in being properly compensated for the client’s contributions toward the maintenance and upkeep of the property.

When you hire our firm to be your New York partition action attorney, we will try to negotiate a favorable settlement for you. If that is not possible, we can represent you in a New York Real Estate Partition Action. We represent co-owners of real estate, whether you are seeking to keep your part ownership interest in the property, or seeking to commence a New York Real Estate Partition Action, in order to convert your part ownership of the property into cash.

If you are a co-owner of real estate and want to “cash out” your share of the property, contact a New York Real Estate Partition Action Attorney. If you are a co-owner of real estate opposing another co-owner who wants to force a sale of the property, contact a New York Real Estate Partition Action Attorney.

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