Can a will that was never probated be used to change the ownership percentages in a partition lawsuit? – North Carolina Short Answer Sometimes, but usually not by itself. In North Carolina, a will generally must be offered for probate to be effective to pass title, and an unprobated will often will not control the…
What if I only have a copy of the will and not the original—can it still be accepted and how does that affect the case? – North Carolina Short Answer Sometimes. In North Carolina, a copy of a will can be accepted in probate in limited situations, but the court usually needs a clear legal…
If a petition is filed about a jointly owned house, who gets to decide whether it will be sold or kept? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, a co-owner does not get to decide alone whether a jointly owned house will be sold or kept once a partition petition is filed. The decision…
How can I stop a partition case from forcing the family property to be sold at auction? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, the main way to prevent a partition case from ending in an auction is to push for an actual partition (a physical division) instead of a sale, or to negotiate…
How does the court decide whether the property will be sold privately or through a bidding process, and can the court set a minimum sale price? – North Carolina Short Answer In a North Carolina partition action, once the court orders a sale, the court (often the Clerk of Superior Court) sets the sale method…
What happens if one co-owner is living in the house—can I make them pay rent or reimburse me during the dispute? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, a co-owner who lives in a jointly owned home usually does not automatically owe “rent” to the other co-owners just because they are the one in…
How can I enforce a settlement agreement when the other co-owner hasn’t paid the buyout amount yet? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, a signed settlement agreement about a co-owner buyout can often be enforced by asking the court in the existing case to enter an order (or consent judgment) that requires performance…
What happens to the property ownership if the other co-owner dies before the buyout is completed? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, what happens to ownership depends on how title is held and whether the buyout deed was actually delivered and recorded before the co-owner’s death. If the owners hold title with a…
Can the tenant or another co-owner buy the property during the partition sale process? – North Carolina Short Answer Yes. In North Carolina, a tenant (the renter) and any co-owner generally may bid to buy the property during a court-ordered partition sale, just like any other member of the public. If the property is sold…
Can we move forward with a partition case to force the sale of the house if the other side keeps delaying? – North Carolina Short Answer Yes. In North Carolina, a co-owner generally can file a partition proceeding to end co-ownership even if the other co-owner keeps delaying a refinance or buyout. If the court…
