a. Introduction
Partition is the most common legal action brought when co-owners cannot agree as to how a property should be utilized. This legal action allows the owners to convert the shared estate into two or more estates. All American jurisdictions recognize and authorize partition by judicial means through statute. Chapter 46 of the North Carolina General Statutes governs all partition actions in the state.
b. Availability of Partition Proceeding
The remedy of partition is provided for joint tenants and tenants in common as a right so that he or she might hold the interest in the property severally. Tenants by the entirety have a limited right to seek a partition action, but only after an absolute divorce has occurred. …show more content…
(6) Must bring the action in the county where the land is located.
b. Estate in Possession
The individual must be entitled to possession of the property or the right to possession. Actual possession is not a requirement to petition and possession may be in the hands of another tenant or a life tenant. North Carolina law provides that, for the purposes of partition, joint tenants and tenants in common will be considered to currently possess the property as if no life estate existed because they actually do have the immediate right to possession subject only to the rights of the holder of the life estate.
c. Jurisdiction and Venue
A partition action in the state of North Carolina is a special proceeding which is filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court. The proper venue when seeking a partition proceeding is the county in which the property sought to be partitioned is located. If the property lies within multiple counties, then the proceeding may be commenced in any of the counties in which it is located. In a situation where the United State is one of the co-tenants of the property, the federal district court has jurisdiction over any civil action seeking