Judicial division of property

Judicial split – When co-owners fail to understand how to divide their property voluntarily and turn their ideal parts into real, they can turn to the court. This way of termination of the co-ownership is settled as a particularly indisputable production, which takes place in two phases .

 Any joint proprietor may file a claim for a division, which is always subject to the district court of the place of inheritance (in the case of a division of inheritance) or the location of the property (in the case of a split of a real estate). Where incapacity or abstention is involved in the partition, prior permission of the District Court is required.

Division by Court settlement. In any case of a court case (prior to the entry into force of the court decision on the distribution of the property), the judicial separation may end with a court settlement. The latter includes a contract between the parties for the distribution of properties and a definition by which the court approves the settlement if it does not contradict the requirements of the law and good morals.

A particular type of court settlement is the agreement of the spouses to divide their property upon divorce by mutual consent.

Judicial division of property

FEATURES OF THE JUDICIAL DIVISION ARE FOLLOWING: 

– First phase of the judicial split of property

In the first phase of the partition the issues between who will be partitioned, which properties and what is the part of each ofthe partitioners are clarified . 

The action for partition is not extinguished by prescription. The subject matter of a division may be all or part of the property, unless the law provides otherwise, or if it is incompatible with the nature or purpose of the property. If one of the co-owners does not take part in the division, it is entirely null and void.

The court decides by a decision on the admissibility of the division, which is subject to self-appeal, after its entry into force, a new hearing is scheduled and the division continues in its second phase.

At the request of some of the distributors, the court ruled on the issue of the temporary distribution of the use of the property until the end of the divestment and the sums that the users should pay to the others.

– Second phase of the judicial split of property

In the second phase of the division a real distribution of the shares admitted to partition is made between the parties that are recognized as co-owners and according to the established shares with the court decision of the first phase of the admission of the division. Whenever possible, each of the partitioners should receive a real share of the objects subject to the divestment, as the units are equalized with money.

In the second phase of the division, if submitted, the following shall also be considered:

• the claims on the accounts of the distributors to recognize the costs he has incurred to increase the value of the property
• claims to increase the inheritance (inheritance split)
• as well as for the assignment of an indivisible residential property (in the case of a divorce of a matrimonial property community or an inheritance).

The casting may be done by drawing lots or by partitioning where the prerequisites provided for in law are available. Where a property is unalterable and can not be placed in one of the lots, the court shall order it to be put out for public sale.

This phase of the division ends with a court decision that has the power of a notary deed on shared real estate and is subject to entry in the Registry Office on the location of the property.

judicial split of property

– Public sale of the real estate

Upon completion of the partition procedure, it is possible to reach a public sale when the object of the division is an inseparable property that is not assigned to any of the partitioners (Article 354 (1) of the CCP) or when, after being placed in a share the co-ordinator has not paid to the remaining amount determined by the court for equalization of the units within six months from the entry into force of the award decision (Art.349, para 6 of the Civil Procedure Code).

Where the co-owner to whom the property is awarded fails to pay the remaining monetary equation within six months, the award decision is invalidated by law and the property is exported to a public auction.

.In this case, the property may not be sold for public sale and assigned to another co-owner if it has made a request for an assignment, the legal prerequisites are in place, and he immediately pays the price at which the property is valued at the split, less the value of his share in it.

When making the sale, the distributors take precedence over the third parties involved in the sale, each of them being able to buy the property at the highest bid. If several distributors wish to redeem the property at the highest price offered at the first sale, a new sale is only made between these dividers, which is carried out under the general rules.

After that the actual distribution is executed. With the help of an expert the court divides the real estate by creating of separate shares for each co-owner after which each of them receives his property by lot.

If the divided property is non-dividable and it can not be put into one of the shares then according to the art. 348 of the Civil and Procedural Code such property should be sold on a public sale which the parties can attend and where they can bid.

If the indivisible property represents a dwelling unit then according to the art. 349 para. 2 of the Civil and Procedural Code each of the co-partitioners who, upon the opening of the succession resided therein and does not own another dwelling unit, may move that the said dwelling unit be allocated to the share thereof, with the shares of the rest of the co-partitioners being equalized by another immovable or by money. Where several co-partitioners satisfying the conditions of sentence one lay claims to allocation of the immovable to the share thereof, preference shall be given to the co-partitioner who offers a higher price.

Each party of the case for judicial division pays the outstanding court fees according to the market price of the received share.  There are no obstacles for the parties to make an agreement about the way of termination of the co-ownership during the judicial division and to arrange a court settlement.