A partition case in Rhode Island (RI) is an equitable, legal action in which a person corporation or legal entity can force the sale of real estate against another co-owner or life tenant. Partition cases can be a result of many different types of real property disputes between owners or life tenants or other people with interests in the property as set forth in the Rhode Island statute. A partition case can involve either residential or commercial real estate. (Article by Rhode Island Attorney David Slepkow 401-437-1100)

If a partition lawsuit is filed and there is no defense to the actual partition then the Court will appoint a commissioner to sell the real estate. Please note that there are usually no defenses to the actual partition. A potential defense which is rarely successful is that the property could be divided by meets and bounds. Another possible defense could be that the entity has no legal right to do the partition because they do not qualify under the Rhode Island statute or don’t have proper legal title to the property etc. There are other potential defenses that are not set forth in this article.

In the vast majority of partition cases, there is no way to stop the partition of the property unless there is a settlement. If there is no settlement, the Rhode Island Superior Court will appoint a commissioner to sell the property. In some limited circumstances a partition case can be filed in the Rhode Island Family Court. A Partition Action in the RI Family Court would usually be in the context of a post divorce action involving third party owners or even a divorce involving third parties

When a commissioner is appointed to sell the real estate, the parties lose a lot of control over the sale of the property. A commissioner is an independent Rhode Island Attorney / lawyer appointed by the Superior Court Judge. A commissioner will be very expensive to the parties because the commissioner legal fees will be taken from the proceeds of the sale before the distribution to the parties.

The commissioner may also hire other real estate experts such as a real estate appraiser to do a appraisal of the property. The commissioner may also search title to the property or hire a title examiner to determine if any other parties have an interest in the real estate. The title examiner or commissioner would need to search title at the registry of deeds. If there are title issues concerning the property the commissioner may incur legal fees to resolve the title issues. Other parties with an interest in the real estate may need to be joined as parties. The commissioner will also hire a realtor to list the real estate for sale on the open market. The commissioner will usually agree to pay the realtor the prevailing commission rate. The Realtor will be paid his or her commision at the real estate closing. Either party to the partition lawsuit, the plaintiffs or the defendants may be given an opportunity to purchase the property so long as they are willing to pay the fair market value of the real estate.

Page 1 of 2 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 | Next