Timeline in New York Partition Action

How long will it take to get the property partitioned and sold, and for the plaintiff to receive his or her share of the sales proceeds?  The time that a New York partition action will take to be resolved depends on several factors, including whether the defendant will be willing to negotiate a settlement, or will choose to spend a large amount of money defending a lawsuit that he/she will ultimately lose.

Will the Plaintiff Win the New York Partition Action?

Unless the co-owners of the property and entered into an agreement regarding their ownership, which prevents or limits the ability of one co-owner to force a partition of the property, it is almost certain that the court will grant the plaintiff the relief sought in the lawsuit, which is the legal partition of the property.

Physical Partition or Sale?

Will the court in a New York Partition Action direct that the property be physically partitioned, or that it be sold and the proceeds distributed among the co-owners?  If the property is the type that can be physically divided, the court might grant each co-owner the exclusive ownership of a portion of the property.  For example, if the property consists of 20 acres of vacant land, the court might grant a partition of the property so that each co-owner will be the sole owner of 10 acres of the land. Typically, the property has a house or other structure on it, which is not capable of being physically divided. Therefore, since most properties cannot be physically divided in a practical way, the court will usually direct that the property be sold and the proceeds be distributed among the co-owners.

Will There Be a Trial in a New York Partition Action?

Theoretically, it is possible that a trial could be necessary, although the New York partition action could possibly get resolved by an order of the court (prior to a trial) deciding a motion made by one of the parties.  Financial issues regarding each party’s entitlement to a portion of the sales proceeds is something that may require a hearing in order for the parties to present evidence of each co-owner’s relative contribution toward the purchase and upkeep of the property, as well as other factors, so the court can issue an appropriate decision regarding distribution of the sales proceeds.

Of course, the parties to the New York partition action could agree to settle the lawsuit at any stage of litigation.

How Will the Court in a New York Partition Action Determine How Much Each Co-Owner Will Receive from the Sales Proceeds?

The court may consider various factors, including those listed below, in determining how much of the sales proceeds each co-owner will receive:

•the circumstances under which the property was purchased by the co-owners   (For example, were the co-owners real estate investors purchasing the property together for investment?  Were the co-owners blood relatives purchasing the property for all the co-owners to live in?  Was one co-owner the real purchaser who paid the entire down payment, mortgage payments, real estate taxes, repairs, maintenance, etc., and exclusively occupied the premises, while the other co-owner simply offered their name to bolster the credit worthiness of the real purchaser, in order to assist the real owner in qualifying for a mortgage loan?

•whether the co-owners took title to the property as tenants in common, or as joint tenants with right of survivorship  (Note that if the co-owners were married to each other, and held title as tenants by the entirety, usually the property would be equitably distributed by the court in a divorce action, however, if the parties agreed that the property would not be distributed as part of a divorce action, and instead would continue to be owned by the two spouses after the divorce decree is issued, it would be possible for a New York partition action to be brought with regard to the property after the divorce decree has been issued.)

•the amount of each party’s contributions toward the purchase of the property, including the down payment and mortgage payments

•the amount of each party’s contributions toward the operating expenses of the property, including real estate taxes, maintenance, repairs, and upkeep of the property

•which co-owners lived in or otherwise occupied the property

•whether any co-owners were prevented from occupying the property by the co-owners who lived in or otherwise occupied the property

•whether rental income for the property was distributed among the co-owners, or whether any co-owners kept the rental income for themselves

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