What is land partition by sale? Attorney Philip Hundl describes partition by sale in this video as part of his series of videos on land partition or the division of undivided interests in Texas. Call 800-266-4870 for an appointment with Philip.
Summary of Land Partition by Sale
Hi, I’m Philip Hundl. I’m an attorney in Texas. My law practice focuses on representing landowners in land partition matters and condemnation proceedings or eminent domain proceedings. I like to focus on partitions. I’ve seen a surge in partitions, as of late, and so we’ve been doing a video series on land partition in Texas.
And so now this section I’d like to talk about partition by sale. And, you know, we’ll spend most of the time talking about partitions and partitions in kind, where the special commissioners would divide up the land, once the judge has determined that the land can be divided. But there are some occasions when the court determines and the parties possibly are asking for the court to sell the property.
How Is Partition by Sale Different from Partition in Kind?
That is partition of the property by sale, which means the court orders it sold. Once it’s sold, the proceeds are divided between the co-owners. The division or the process is done according to however the judge has decided according to the interests and any offsets and credits.
So let’s kind of break that down and unpack that. The best example is a house on a lot in town. Let’s just say there are four co-owners and there’s a lot in town with a house and each of the co-owners owns 25%, undivided interest.
It’s very difficult for the court to figure out a way to divide up the house four ways. So in those situations, from what I have seen, the court has always decided to go ahead and partition the land by sale.
At the first trial, or first hearing — it is technically a trial — the court determines that the land cannot be divided in kind. Then the land is ordered sold, and then the proceeds divided amongst the co-owners.
How Does the Sale of the Property Happen?
How exactly does that work? It varies from court to court, judge to judge, and what the attorneys are asking the court to do, regarding the sale of the property. But typically the court will appoint a temporary receiver, oftentimes a local realtor, to list the property. Hopefully it sells and then the proceeds are divided however the court has determined at that first hearing.
Let’s just say that the court has determined that one of the co-owners has improved the property or been paying taxes for a long time or whatever credit that the court decides is reasonable for this co-owner to receive. So he or she would receive his 25% and then possibly an additional $5,000 or $10,000, depending on what the court determines is the appropriate credit to that co-owner. And that would obviously take away slightly from the other three that each own 25% of the property.
We’ll Also Talk About Partition by Sale in an Heirs Property Case
So hopefully that example helps you to understand how a partition by sale is conducted. In another video, we’ll go into partition by sale or a buyout in the heir’s property situation. But this example relates to the situation when the court determines that the property cannot be divided in kind or partitioned in kind and is ordered sold.
Hopefully that’s helpful. Good luck.