What Is a Partition Action in Florida?
A partition action is a lawsuit that asks a judge to divide jointly owned real property among its owners, or to sell it and divide the money. It’s an equity action heard in circuit court, and it has to be filed in the county where the land sits. Partition actions in Florida are governed by Chapter 64 of the Florida Statutes, which lays out who can file, what the complaint must say, and how the court decides between a physical division and a sale.
How the partition process runs
The complaint describes the property, names every owner and states each person’s share. If the court finds you’re entitled to partition, it enters a judgment adjudicating everyone’s interests.
From there, the court decides whether the land can be divided fairly or has to be sold. If it can be divided, the judge appoints commissioners to draw the lines. If it can’t be divided without hurting the owners, the court orders a sale, and the proceeds are distributed according to each owner’s share after costs are paid.
The accounting between co-owners
That last step is where a good partition action attorney earns their fee. The court doesn’t simply split the sale price down the middle. An owner who paid more than their share of the mortgage, taxes, insurance or necessary repairs can ask for a credit out of the proceeds, and an owner who collected rent or lived in the property alone may face an offset. The accounting between co-owners is often worth more than the argument over whether to sell at all.
Inherited property and heirs property
Inherited property gets special treatment. Since 2020, Florida has followed the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act for land that passed down through a family without a will or trust and is still owned by relatives. Before any forced sale, the court orders an appraisal and gives the other heirs a chance to buy out the owner who wants to leave. If nobody buys, the court favors an open-market sale through a broker over a courthouse auction, which usually means a better price for everyone.
The Two Types of Partition Actions in Orlando, Florida
Florida recognizes two outcomes in a partition case, and the property itself usually decides which one applies.
Partition in kind
If the property can be physically divided, the court splits it. A large tract of vacant land is the classic example. Each owner walks away with a smaller parcel that’s entirely theirs, and no sale is needed. Commissioners appointed by the court handle the division and may hire a surveyor to set the boundaries.
Partition by sale
A house, a condo or a small lot can’t be cut in half without destroying its value, so the court orders it sold and divides the proceeds instead. Florida law allows the sale to be a public auction conducted by the clerk, or a private sale on terms the court approves if the parties agree. The proceeds go first to costs and any liens, then to the owners in proportion to their interests, adjusted for the credits and offsets described above.
Voluntary partition and partition in divorce
A partition can also be voluntary. When co-owners agree on a division or a sale but need it documented and enforceable, we draft the agreement and deeds so nobody has to go to court. When they don’t agree, the case goes to a judge, and the disputes tend to be about who owns what percentage, who gets credit for what, and whether the property can be divided at all.
Partition tied to a divorce adds a layer, because the family court’s equitable distribution ruling and the partition court’s accounting have to line up.
Mediation vs. Partition Actions in Orlando, Florida
Why we try to settle first
Litigation is always more expensive than agreement, so we look for a negotiated solution first. A real estate partition lawyer can often get co-owners to a buyout, a listing agreement or a written division plan through direct negotiation or mediation, and Orange County judges routinely send partition cases to mediation before trial in any event. If you and your co-owner are only a few thousand dollars apart on a buyout price, mediation is almost always the better path.
When the case has to be filed
Some cases can’t settle. One spouse wants to keep the family home while the other needs the equity out. Business partners disagree about developing land versus holding it. Siblings inherit a house and one of them has been living there rent-free for years.
When that’s the situation, we file, and we make sure the accounting claims are pleaded from the start so they aren’t lost. Either way, the goal is the same: get you out of a co-ownership that isn’t working, with the share you’re actually owed.
Why Work With Legal Counsel, P.A.
Partition cases are real estate litigation, and that’s the center of what we do. Michele Diglio-Benkiran founded the firm and has practiced business and real estate law since 1999. Richard Sierra is a commercial litigation and bankruptcy lawyer with more than three decades of experience overseeing civil litigation. Between transactional work and courtroom work, we’ve seen what a co-ownership looks like when it’s set up properly and what it looks like when it falls apart, and that informs how we value your case.
Results matter to us, and so does what the case costs you. We offer a free consultation, and we talk about fees, timelines and settlement value before you commit to anything. Pay later options are available for clients who qualify.
Serving Orlando, Orange County and Central Florida
Partition actions for property in Orlando are filed in the Circuit Civil Division of the Ninth Judicial Circuit at the Orange County Courthouse on North Orange Avenue downtown. We also handle partition matters in Seminole, Osceola, Lake and Polk counties, and our real estate litigation work extends across Central Florida from our Winter Garden, Orlando and Seminole offices.
Partition is one piece of a broader real estate litigation practice that also covers quiet title, ejectment, escrow disputes and tax deed matters.
