When You Own Property Together—but No Longer Agree on What Happens Next.

Owning property with another person can work well—until circumstances change.

One owner may want to sell while another wants to keep the property. Family members may inherit real estate together and disagree about what to do with it. Former partners may remain co-owners after the relationship ends. Questions may arise about who has paid expenses, made improvements, or received income from the property.

When co-owners cannot agree, a partition action may provide a legal path toward resolving the ownership dispute.

At Sullivan Evans Goenawein, we help Texas property owners understand their rights, evaluate their options, and determine the appropriate path forward.

Where Life and Law Intersect

Business, family, and estate decisions rarely happen in isolation. We help you understand how one decision can affect everything else.

A parent dies and leaves a house to several children.
An unmarried couple buys a home together and later separates.
Family members jointly own land, but have different plans for its future.
One co-owner wants to sell. Another refuses.

What began as a property issue can quickly become a family, probate, financial, or business dispute.

That is why partition matters are rarely just about the property.
They are often about what happens when shared ownership no longer works.

What Is a Partition Action in Texas?

A partition action is a legal process that may allow a co-owner of property to seek a division of jointly owned property when the owners cannot agree on what should happen to it.

Depending on the property and circumstances, the resolution may involve dividing the property itself or selling the property and dividing the proceeds among the owners.

But determining ownership percentages may only be part of the dispute.

Questions can also arise about expenses, taxes, mortgage payments, improvements, use of the property, income generated by the property, and other financial contributions made by individual owners.

Understanding the complete history of the property and the people who own it can therefore be important before determining how to proceed.

You Inherited Property Together. Now What?

This is one of the clearest examples of Where Life and Law Intersect.

A parent or other family member dies and leaves real estate to multiple beneficiaries.
At first, everyone owns the property together.

Then the questions begin.
Should we sell it?
Can one sibling buy out the others?
What if one person is living in the house?
What if one owner refuses to sell?
What if someone has been paying the taxes, insurance, mortgage, or maintenance?
What if the property is still part of an estate or there is a disagreement about ownership?

A disagreement that appears to be about real estate may also involve probate, inheritance rights, family relationships, and financial claims between co-owners.

Understanding how those issues connect can be critical to determining the next step.

When Property Ownership Intersects With the Rest of Your Life

Inheritance and Probate
Real estate frequently passes to multiple family members after a death. Before pursuing partition, it may be necessary to understand how title passed, whether probate is complete, and who actually owns the property.

Family Relationships
Some of the most difficult co-ownership disputes occur between siblings or other relatives. The legal issue may involve property, but the history behind the disagreement can be deeply personal.

Unmarried Couples
Buying property together does not necessarily mean there is a clear plan for what happens if the relationship ends. When former partners cannot agree about keeping or selling jointly owned property, partition may become an option.

Business and Investment Property
Business partners and investors can also find themselves unable to agree about jointly owned real estate. Ownership agreements, business interests, financial contributions, and other contractual issues may need to be considered alongside the property dispute.

Estate Planning
Property that is left to multiple beneficiaries can sometimes create future conflicts that were never intended. How real estate is handled in an estate plan can affect the people who eventually inherit it.

What If One Owner Wants to Sell and the Other Doesn’t?

This is often the question that brings someone to a partition attorney.

A co-owner generally cannot assume that another owner will remain in a shared ownership arrangement indefinitely simply because one person does not want to sell.

But the appropriate legal strategy depends on the ownership structure, the type of property, how title is held, and the circumstances surrounding the dispute.
Before filing a partition action, it may also make sense to determine whether the owners can reach another resolution.

That could include a negotiated sale, a buyout, or another agreement that resolves the ownership issue without prolonged litigation.

When agreement is not possible, litigation may be necessary to move the matter forward.

Sometimes the Property Isn’t the Only Dispute.

Who paid the mortgage?
Who paid the property taxes and insurance?
Who paid for necessary repairs?
Did one owner make substantial improvements?
Has one person been receiving rental income?
Has one co-owner had exclusive use of the property?
Are the parties even in agreement about their ownership interests?

These questions can make a seemingly straightforward property dispute significantly more complicated.

At Sullivan Evans Goenawein, we look beyond the simple question of “Who owns the property?” to understand the legal and financial issues surrounding that ownership.

When the Legal Problem Doesn’t Fit Neatly Into One Box, Call Us.

A partition dispute may begin with a piece of property.

But behind that property may be an inheritance, a probate matter, a family disagreement, a former relationship, a business interest, or years of financial contributions between co-owners.

Sullivan Evans Goenawein helps clients understand how those issues connect and determine a path forward.

Where Life and Law Intersect.

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* Note: If you need to see a Family Law attorney, there is an initial fee. Please call for details.