An Experienced & Affordable

Real Estate

Law Firm

That You Can Depend On

Florida real estate law encompasses state statutes that can often be complicated and intimidating. At the Law Offices of Stephen K. Hachey, we boast more than eighteen years of experience representing a variety of residential and commercial clients facing partition actions: for sale by owner, fraudulent deeds, unlawful detainer & ejectment, foreclosure, loan modification, short sale, deed in lieu and more. Our mission is to meet each and every client’s individual needs, providing compassionate, personalized and affordable representation you can depend on.

There are many reasons why Florida property owners may decide that a partition of property is needed. The three most common reasons are:

1. When children inherit property and become joint owners
2. When an unmarried couple owns property jointly and then split up
3. When a business partnership dissolves and cannot agree on the division of its assets.

A partition action can be filed by a joint owner of a property except if the property is owned by a husband and wife as tenants by the entireties. The Defendants to the lawsuit are all of the other owners of the property. The lawsuit must be filed in the County in which the property is located.

Once a lawsuit for a partition is filed, the court must decide whether the property should be sold and how the proceeds of the sale should be divided amongst the owners. Some owner may be entitled to receive a higher share to the sale proceeds for improvement or contributions that they made to the property such as mortgage payments or property taxes. If there are mortgages or liens on the property, the mortgages and liens must be satisfied from the sale proceeds before the remainder is divided amongst the owners. Each owner is responsible for a share of the attorney fees and court costs, which are incurred for the action.

But what happens if I want to sell the property?

If you are open to selling the property, we would first work to reach an official agreement to sell the property. Once that agreement is made, the property will be sold, and we will work to achieve a settlement agreement to determine the amount of proceeds each party is entitled to receive. In the event we are unable to reach an agreement privately, we have the option to go to mediation. As discussed previously, a mediator is an independent person that serves as a go-between to help the parties reach a settlement. If we go to mediation, and are still unable to reach an agreement, then we will present our case to court asking the judge to make a determination regarding how to properly divide the proceeds between the parties, and issue an order. The good news is that regardless of whether we’re able to reach agreements outside of court or not, we are experienced with these issues, and can assist you throughout the entire process.