Also known as: judicial partitions · partition action · judicially ordered partition
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A court-ordered division of real property held by co-tenants that terminates the concurrent ownership either by physically splitting the land into separate parcels or by selling the property and distributing the proceeds according to ownership interests.
Joy Jiang and Jessica Jacobs own a 400-acre farm as joint tenants. The property depends on one irrigation well that state regulations prohibit dividing or duplicating. Joy petitions for partition in kind by splitting the land equally. The court orders a judicial sale because any physical division would leave one parcel without water access and therefore unusable for farming.
Julia Jensen and Jordan Jenkins hold an office building as tenants by the entirety. After separation Julia files for judicial partition and sale to liquidate her interest. The court denies the action because a spouse cannot unilaterally compel partition of entireties property while the marriage remains intact.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
June Jiang and Joanna Jung acquire a home together without marrying. After the relationship ends June sues for judicial partition. The court applies ordinary partition principles to the co-owned property and orders a sale with division of proceeds because the parties hold the asset as tenants in common.
Partition in kind is preferred when a fair physical division is possible. A court orders sale when physical characteristics or external legal constraints such as zoning or water regulations make equitable division impossible.
Supporting sources
No. A spouse holding property as tenants by the entirety generally cannot force partition during an intact marriage because the estate is treated as owned by the marital unit rather than by two separate individuals.
No. Any tenant in common or joint tenant possesses an individual right to compel partition without the consent of the remaining co-owners.
Yes. Co-tenants who hold possessory fee tail interests may compel partition on the same terms as fee simple owners because the present possessory character of the estate controls.
…assets "to pay debts and legacies, or for any other purpose"). Cf. La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 9:2801 (West 1991 and Supp. 1997) (judicial partition of assets on divorce); Hare v. Hodgins , 586 So. 2d 118, 123 (La. 1991) (to equalize allocation of community assets on termination, court may grant "cash or other property in lieu of an…