In this video, Attorney Philip Hundl describes how to file a petition for partition if no agreement can be reached between the co-owners. Call 800-266-4870 for an appointment with Mr. Hundl. Appointments can be in person, online or by phone.
What Is Filing a Petition for Partition?
Hi, I’m Philip Hundl. I’m an attorney in Texas. My practicing area focuses on representing landowners facing land partition matters and eminent domain or condemnation proceedings. This video series focuses on land partitions in Texas, and we’ve gone over some ways in which the parties hopefully can agree on a partition.
You Should Hire an Experienced Land Partition Attorney to Help You
But if there’s not an agreement on a partition, then you’re going to have to move to the next option for you as co-owner, and that is filing a petition for partition. Now, like any type of legal proceeding in court, I strongly recommend that you do not go it alone or not attempt to do it as a pro se party. That’s always a challenge and a struggle in land partitions, I don’t typically see parties representing themselves. They hire attorneys who are very familiar with how land partitions work.
What’s in the Petition for Partition?
So, let’s talk about if there is no agreement, then what? In filing a petition, you’re going to need to know all the information about the parties, their addresses where they can be served, and the legal description of the property. And then there are some other additional items that you can include in the petition.
Sometimes parties will request in the petition what part of the property and how many acres they would like. That’s something that you can discuss that with your attorney. Also, you might include if you’re seeking any offsets or credits, or additional value towards your percentage, if you’ve improved the property.
For example, perhaps you’ve built a road or built some other improvement like a building on the property or a barn on the property. You might be seeking reimbursement or you might want the part of the land that includes that barn. You should ask for that in the petition.
Getting that petition the way you want it from the very beginning is always the best practice. You can amend your pleading once your original petition for partition is filed.
What Happens After the Petition Is Filed?
Then once you file the petition for partition, citations have to be requested and then parties served. You’ve probably been in contact with the other parties and trying to reach an agreement. Maybe they’re also represented by an attorney, and the attorneys have been trying to assist the parties in reaching an agreement.
Then instead of having to go out and get these other co-parties or co-owners served, your lawyer can ask their lawyer if they will agree to waive service. So that’s something I always ask for, and most lawyers are very good about agreeing to that when there’s been some dialogue back and forth. It’s just a way to save some expenses in the case, because expenses will run up very quickly. If there’s a way to save a few expenses, always attempt to try to do that.
Hopefully this is helpful. Once again, if you’re facing a partition matter, please talk to an attorney who is familiar with those types of proceedings. It’s a very specialized area of practice. So with that, good luck.