A partition action is a lawsuit in which a court determines whether a property with two or more owners is to be partitioned or sold. When two or more owners cannot agree on the disposition of the property in question, any of the owners can file a partition action in the appropriate court.
To initiate a partition action in Pennsylvania, a co-owner must file a partition complaint at the Court of Common Pleas. The Complaint will set forth the property description, the names and addresses of the co-owners, and their interest in the property.
Code § 4.102. Current with legislation from the 2023 Regular and Special Sessions signed by the Governor as of November 21, 2023. At any time, the spouses may partition or exchange between themselves all or part of their community property, then existing or to be acquired, as the spouses may desire.
This is the doctrine of adverse possession. Under Pennsylvania law, one who claims title by adverse possession must prove actual, continuous, exclusive, visible, notorious, distinct and hostile possession of the land for twenty-one (21) years.
Can One Owner Sell a Jointly Owned Property? Generally, one co-owner cannot sell the entire property without the consent of the others. However, in a tenancy in common, a party may sell their interest without seeking consent from the others.
To initiate a partition action in Pennsylvania, a co-owner must file a partition complaint at the Court of Common Pleas. The Complaint will set forth the property description, the names and addresses of the co-owners, and their interest in the property.
Even if only one spouse's name is on the deed, any property bought during the marriage is presumed to be community property, unless it was bought with separate property funds. The spouse claiming it as separate property must prove it in court.
Separate real property is divvied out in the same manner, but once the surviving spouse dies, real property is transferred to the children. The laws in Texas surrounding intestate wills for married individuals without children are much simpler. The surviving spouse automatically receives all community property.