Unmarried Homeowners Reach Fair Settlement in Property Dispute

Partition actions arise when two or more individuals who own the same piece of land reach an irreconcilable difference regarding the use of the land. Any co-owner can bring an action to partition land or property.

Our client had purchased a home with an individual who was her fiancé at the time. He paid the full down payment on the property as well as most of the mortgage payments, even though her name was also on the deed. When the two of them broke up, our client was ordered out of the house and told to stay away. So she called us.

We sent a demand letter to the ex-fiancé, then opened up negotiations with both him and his attorney. Our client ended up with a sum of cash and got her name off the deed of the property. Her ex-fiancé had to refinance the house to settle the dispute and pay what we agreed she was owed.

Once we reached the settlement, the ex-fiancé and his lawyer took their sweet time paying up. We reminded them that the contract required them to pay a penalty of $100 per day, so they ended up forking over the money at the refinance closing.