What is suit for Partition in Florida?

How long does a suit for partition take?
How does a suit for partition sale take place?
How do you divide the money in a suit for partition?
Attorney Tom Olsen: Where are partition actions used here in the State of Florida?
Attorney Caleb Maggio: They're used in a scenario where multiple people own real estate or personal property and you have a scenario where some owners may want to actually sell, liquidate that asset, some owners want to hang on to it, and so the owners that want to sell that asset can actually force the sale of that asset with a partition lawsuit.
Tom: I can think of some situations where I've seen that arise, and that is one is that a boyfriend, girlfriend bought a piece of property, guess what, they split up and one has moved out, and the one that's moved out certainly want to have their share of the equity in that property. Another situation is that mom and dad have passed away and the four kids have inherited that property, and one of the kids lives in the home and wants to continue to live there, but the other three kids, they want to sell the home and get their share. Both those situations, the parties cannot work it out and get it done. That's where they need to see an action, a lawyer, and start the partition action.
Caleb: That's right.
Tom: Now, Caleb, I've never heard about this using it for a personal property because I've had a lot of people over the years call me and say, "Tom, I bought a car with my son, my girlfriend, we co-own a car, and they're not making payments on the car, what are we supposed to do? Is that a partition action?"
Caleb: That's right. Personal property under the statute can be partitioned, so you're looking at things like vehicles, boats, motorcycles, anything like that.
Tom: Caleb, we're talking about partition actions and the forced sale of a piece of property where multiple owners own a piece of property. One wants to sell, others don't want to sell. A suit for partition, the court will order that the property be sold. Of course, back in the old days, if we're talking about acreage, the court could have ordered that the property literally be divided. Each kid gets 10 acres, but these days, we're talking about a home, you can't divide that down the middle, so the court will order that the property be sold. If your client hires you to begin a partition action and you start it, you file the action, you serve the other parties, can the other parties somehow defend it or stop that partition action?
Caleb: Tom, as far as stopping the partition action, there's really only two ways that a defendant can stop the forced sale of that property. The first way is if they can show that you actually do not have title to the property, you being the person that's moving for the partition. That's almost never going to happen. The second way is if they can show that you, by agreement, had previously waived your right to file the partition, which, again, is just not something you see very often, but if you did make that agreement for some reason in the past, no, you're not going to be able to make that partition now.
Tom: Could that be an oral agreement or it must have been in writing?
Caleb: It could be oral.
Tom: That would be unusual circumstances. We're talking about a suit for partition. The court will order that the property be sold. Caleb, from a practical point of view, how does that sale go down? Traditionally, maybe it happened on the courthouse steps at an auction, but it's probably something more modern is happening these days.
Caleb: Right, Tom. You can get to that point where you're having an auction, but typically, what happens is the parties are either going to agree to list the property with a specific broker and agree to some terms, or the court is going to appoint a magistrate to do those things for you. At the end of the day, if everyone's being very, very difficult, then that property could be sold at auction, but typically, you can avoid that these days.
Tom: In a partition action, when it comes down to the final sale, either the parties have agreed or the magistrate has chosen who the real estate broker is going to be, do they also dictate about what the listing price is going to be and ultimately what the sale price would be?
Caleb: That's right, Tom. If the parties cannot agree to a listing price, the court is going to get an appraisal done, and that appraisal is going to be the value you use for that sales price.
Tom: If the property gets sold, what happens to the net sale price? After they pay the closing costs, after they pay the broker's commission, what happens to the sale proceeds?
Caleb: Tom, you pay, like you said, the costs. You pay typically attorney's fees from that amount, and then the general rule is that each owner is getting a percentage of the remaining proceeds in proportion to their ownership interest.
Tom: If there are four parties and two of them have lawyers involved, are both lawyers getting paid out of the sale proceeds?

[jeffhermann]

Would love to hear your thoughts on this scenario!
Boyfriend/ girlfriend bought a house together. Boyfriend put down entire 20% and is the only person on the mortgage. Both parties on title. Since living together, boyfriend is only person who has increased the equity on the house as he is the one making payments on house. Would filing a partition make sense in this as girlfriend has not contributed a penny and deserves no money in a 50/50 split?

[pokeboy]

Hey question im in a partision lawsuit rn i own 50 percent and my step mom owes other. When my dad died me and my siblings inherit the house. My stepmom blockes me and my siblings and wouldn't let us go to house. Would we owe her money if she didnt let us contribute to paying mortgage .