Chapter 558 — Partition, Sale; Who May Bring Action

558.001 Applicability This section says that the old partition rules in Chapter 558 apply to all partition lawsuits that were started before … 558.01 Partition, Sale; Who May Bring Action When two or more people own real estate together, any one of them can file a lawsuit to split up the property. The court … 558.02 Summons; Service When starting a partition case, the summons must name all known owners and lienholders. If some owners are unknown, the … 558.03 Complaint The complaint in a partition case must describe the interest of every person who has a stake in the property, whether as … 558.04 Judgment for Partition; Referees After the parties prove their ownership rights in court, the judge orders the property to be divided. The court appoints … 558.05 Dispute Between Defendants No Defense If the plaintiff proves their share of the property, the case can move forward even if the defendants are fighting among … 558.06 Duty of Referees; Report; Expenses The referees must divide the property fairly based on each person's share, considering both the amount and quality of … 558.07 Confirmation of Report; Final Judgment The court reviews the referees' report and can accept or reject it. If rejected, the court may appoint new referees. … 558.08 Persons Not Affected A partition judgment does not affect tenants who have a life estate in the entire property. It also does not prevent … 558.09 Liens, How Affected If someone has a lien (like a mortgage) on one co-owner's share, that lien moves to whatever portion of the property … 558.10 Costs Apportioned The costs of the partition are split among all the owners who receive a share of the land. The court decides how much … 558.11 Compensation Because of Inequality If the property cannot be divided into perfectly equal shares, the court can order one co-owner to pay money to another … 558.12 Indivisible Property May Be Set Off; Occupancy Assigned When a building or part of the property cannot be physically divided without hurting its value, the referees can give … 558.13 Occupant Liable to Cotenants; Trespass When one co-owner gets exclusive use of the property for a set time, that person is responsible for any damage they … 558.14 Sale May Be Ordered If the property cannot be physically divided without seriously hurting the owners' interests, the court can order it … 558.15 Liens; New Parties; No Sale, When Before ordering a sale, the court must check for liens on the property. Any lienholder who was not made a party to the … 558.16 Proceeds, How Applied When property is sold in a partition case, the sale money is used in this order: first, to pay the general costs of the … 558.17 Sale of Real Property Under Action for Partition; Notice The sale is usually a public auction for cash, with notice published the same way as a foreclosure sale. If it benefits … 558.18 Persons Prohibited From Purchasing The referees who handle the sale are not allowed to buy the property themselves or have anyone buy it for them. A … 558.19 Purchase by Part Owner A co-owner or lienholder can buy the property at the partition sale. If they do, the referees can accept a receipt for … 558.20 Report of Sale After the sale, the referees must file a report with the court administrator. The report must describe each parcel sold, … 558.21 Final Judgment on Confirming Report Once the court approves the sale, a final judgment is entered. The judgment directs the referees to sign and deliver … 558.215 Orders, Interlocutory Judgments; Appeals Allows parties to appeal any order or interlocutory judgment in partition proceedings to the court of appeals within 30 … 558.22 Claims to Proceeds, How Determined When sale proceeds belonging to known parties are paid into court, the case can continue so the court can decide who … 558.23 Record and Effect of Conveyances The deeds signed by the referees must be recorded and cut off the rights of all parties to the case. This includes all … 558.24 Sale of Part; Life Estate or for Years If only part of the property is ordered sold and someone has a life estate or term-of-years interest in an undivided … 558.25 Estate for Life or Years, May Be Set Off or Sold If someone has a life estate or term-of-years interest, the court may set it off from the part being sold, so the sale … 558.26 Sum in Lieu of Estate; Investing Proceeds; Unknown Parties When a life estate is sold as part of the partition, the life tenant receives a lump sum based on the calculated value … 558.27 Future Estates If someone has a future interest in the property (like a remainder or contingent interest), the court figures out the … 558.28 Release of Contingent Interest Allows a married person to release a contingent interest in real estate to their spouse, so sale proceeds go entirely to … 558.29 Investment of Proceeds Requires sale proceeds belonging to unknown or absent owners or from prior estates to be invested in interest-bearing … 558.30 Share of Infant, How Paid Allows sale proceeds from a minor's share to be paid to the minor's general or special guardian if adequate security has … 558.31 Share of Person Who Lacks Mental Capacity Allows sale proceeds from the share of a person who lacks mental capacity to be paid to the person's guardian after the … 558.32 Proceedings When State a Party Provides that the state can be made a party to partition actions, with the summons and complaint served on the attorney …