Partition of Real and Personal PropertyDivision of the Property
Section § 873.210
This rule states that when the court appoints a referee to divide property, the referee must compare the quality and value of the property parts and distribute them to each party based on their interests as decided earlier in the legal process.
Section § 873.220
This law says that when dividing property among multiple parties, efforts should be made to give each person the part of the property where they've made improvements, or where improvements were made by someone they inherited it from, if possible. Importantly, the value of those improvements shouldn't be included in the division process.
Section § 873.230
If someone sold part of a property before a court action to divide the property starts, the court should try to make sure that part goes to the buyer. This applies as long as it doesn't unfairly harm the rights of the others involved. The goal is to respect the sale and treat the buyer, their heirs, or anyone they passed it to, as owners of that portion.
Section § 873.240
If a property is made up of different lots or pieces, they should be split up by those natural divisions, as long as it doesn't significantly harm anyone's legal rights.
Section § 873.250
This law talks about how to handle situations where property is divided among parties, but it can't be split evenly based on their ownership stakes. If some parties would be disadvantaged by an unequal division, those who benefit might have to pay others to balance things out. However, this rule doesn't apply to unknown property owners or minors—unless the minor has enough personal property to cover the costs and it actually benefits the minor's interest.
Section § 873.260
If someone has a lien, which is a claim or legal right on part of a property, and that property is later divided, the lien will only apply to the portion of the property that the original owner of the liened part receives.
Section § 873.270
If the court identifies that two or more unknown parties share interests in a property, the part of the property belonging to them will stay undivided.
Section § 873.280
This law requires a referee to report back to the court about how they managed their responsibilities in a case. The report must be shared with all parties involved. It needs to detail how the property was divided, which party gets what share, and any suggestions about handling roads or easements.
Section § 873.290
If you're involved in a court case and you disagree with a report about dividing property, you can ask the court to change or cancel it by notifying the other parties. During a hearing, the court can either approve the report, make changes, or cancel it entirely and request a new one. Once the court approves and enters the judgment, the property will be divided according to that decision, and the ownership will be officially updated.