If the motto “all for one and one for all ” has turned into “every man for himself ” regarding joint ownership of real property, you may need assistance from an experienced Charlotte NC partition lawyer. In North Carolina, a Partition is a legal action brought by a co-tenant of jointly owned property before the Clerk of Court in the county where the real estate is located. The purpose of a North Carolina partition action is to sever the joint tenants interest in the real property, so each can have his or her own share separately.
Partition and Partition Sales in North Carolina
Partition actions commonly arise after Probate or Estate proceedings, when a decedent left his real property, either by Will or through intestacy, to more than one individual. In most circumstances, real property does not pass through probate in North Carolina and vests in the heirs from the decedent’s date of death. Real estate is generally an expensive asset to maintain and all joint owners are responsible for paying their share of the taxes, expenses, and upkeep. Each joint owner (often siblings) may be located in different parts of the country, have different levels of financial solvency, have different ideas about what the decedent’s wishes were for the property, or one joint owner is living on the property and excluding the others. These reasons (and many more) can lead to conflicts between the joint owners than cannot be resolved among themselves without court intervention. May issues that lead to partitions can be avoided through proper estate planning, such as ordering real estate to be sold in a Will or placing the property in a Trust, where one Trustee controls and manages the property for all trust beneficiaries.
Two Ways to Partition Real Property
- Partition in kind – actual division of land among joint owners
- Partition by sale – a sale of the property with the proceeds thereof being divided amount the joint owners
It is important to understand that a partition by sale is allowed only if actual partition in kind cannot be made without substantial injury to any of the joint owners.
Attorney for Charlotte NC Real Estate Partition
Partition proceedings are by nature contentious because if all joint owners could agree on a resolution, a petition for partition to the Court would not be necessary. The North Carolina rules of civil procedure are applicable to partition proceedings, and it is important to consult an attorney who understands North Carolina real estate partitions to make sure your rights and interest in the proceeding are protected. Once a partition action has been served, the respondent co-tenants may have as few as 10 days to respond, so do not delay in contacting an experienced North Carolina partition lawyer can make sure your rights are protected. Our NC partition attorney can file a partition action throughout the state, but primary serves Mecklenburg County and the Charlotte NC metro area, including Gaston County, Iredell County, and Union County for real estate partition proceedings.
Call Us Now at (704) 608-3429 or E-mail info@nosaljeterlaw.com