In a Sale
What This Means When the House Is Being Sold
This is where an inherited property ends up when siblings or other co-heirs simply cannot reach agreement, one wants to sell, one wants to keep it, and no amount of conversation moves either position. A partition action asks the court to resolve the standoff, typically by ordering the property sold and the proceeds divided according to each owner's share, since most residential property cannot practically be physically divided.
It is slow and expensive relative to a cooperative sale, often taking many months and consuming a meaningful portion of the property's value in legal costs and, sometimes, a court-appointed referee's fees. Most families who reach this point have already tried and exhausted other options, and an attorney typically recommends it only when direct negotiation has genuinely failed.
Real estate agents sometimes get pulled into these situations by one co-owner hoping to force a sale informally. Doing so without every owner's actual agreement, or without understanding whose name needs to be on the listing agreement, generally creates more problems than it solves.
Sequence
What Usually Happens
- 1Co-owners attempt to agree on selling or dividing the property directly
- 2One or more owners file a partition action in court
- 3The court determines whether the property can be physically divided or must be sold
- 4Where a sale is ordered, a referee is often appointed to conduct it
- 5Proceeds are divided among the owners according to their ownership shares
Compare
Not to Be Confused With
- This TermPartition Action
- Often Mistaken ForTenancy in Common
- Often Mistaken ForWill Contest
What Tells Them Apart
A partition action is a lawsuit between co-owners who disagree about what to do with jointly held property, most often arising from a tenancy in common created by inheritance. A will contest disputes the validity of a will itself, which is a different question entirely from what happens to property multiple heirs already legally co-own together.
Questions
Questions People Ask
What can be done if co-heirs cannot agree on selling an inherited house?
Where direct negotiation fails, any co-owner can generally file a partition action, asking a court to order the property sold and the proceeds divided. It is slower and more expensive than a cooperative sale, and most attorneys recommend it only after other options have genuinely been exhausted.
Can one heir force the sale of an inherited property that siblings co-own?
Generally yes, through a partition action, even without the other owners' agreement, since courts typically do not force unwilling co-owners to remain tied to jointly held property indefinitely. This is a legal proceeding rather than something a real estate agent can arrange informally, and it requires an attorney.