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name: partition-complaint language: en description: >- Drafts a U.S. civil complaint for partition of real property by co-owners, pleading jurisdiction, ownership interests, property description, encumbrances, and grounds for partition in kind or by sale. Trigger when the user needs a partition action, co-owner dispute complaint, tenant-in-common or joint-tenancy division, or court-ordered sale of real property. tags:

• drafting
• litigation
• pleading

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Partition Complaint

Draft a complaint establishing jurisdiction, ownership, property description, and grounds for partition in kind or by sale.

Quick Start

Collect before drafting:

Item	Details
Court / county	Venue where property is located
Parties	Full legal names, capacity, addresses, entity info
Co-ownership basis	Purchase, inheritance, gift, divorce
Tenancy type	Tenants in common or joint tenants
Property	Street address, APN, county, legal description (metes/bounds or lot/block)
Ownership interests	Percentages or fractional shares; acquisition method and dates
Encumbrances	Mortgages, liens, easements, amounts
Partition type	In kind or by sale with supporting facts
Prior efforts	Negotiations, demands, ADR if required

Pleading Structure

Number all allegations sequentially.

1. Caption — Court, parties, title "Complaint for Partition of Real Property."
2. Nature of Action — Identify partition statute; state action type.
3. Jurisdiction and Venue — Subject-matter jurisdiction; personal jurisdiction via ownership in forum; venue in property county.
4. Parties — Identity and relationship to property. Entities: formation state and principal place. Estates: personal representative or heirs.
5. Property Description — Street address, APN, full legal description. Attach as Exhibit A when required.
6. Ownership Interests — Tenancy type, specific shares, acquisition method and dates.
7. Encumbrances and Contributions — Recorded liens and material encumbrances. Disproportionate payments or improvements if seeking accounting.
8. Grounds for Partition — Inability to agree on disposition; necessity of partition.
9. Partition Type — Plead in-kind feasibility or sale necessity (see checklist below).
10. Statutory Compliance — Cite statute; plead satisfaction of preconditions (notice, ADR).
11. Prayer for Relief — See relief menu below.
12. Verification and Signature — Verification if required; attorney or pro se signature block.

Partition-by-Sale Checklist

Allege one or more when seeking sale over in-kind division:

• Physical division impracticable (size, configuration, access, utilities)
• Single structure cannot be divided without destroying value
• Zoning or subdivision rules prevent lawful division
• Division would materially diminish value compared to whole-property sale
• Fractional interests make equitable in-kind division infeasible

Relief Menu

Relief	When to include
Partition in kind	Physical division feasible and equitable
Partition by sale	In kind impracticable or causes material injury
Referee / commissioner	Statute or local practice requires appointment
Accounting	Dispute over rents, profits, taxes, or improvements
Costs and fees	Authorized by statute, contract, or equity
Sale procedure	Court-supervised sale and distribution needed

Pitfalls

• Join all co-owners and necessary lienholders; identify unknown claimants per local rules.
• Use the deed's legal description verbatim; attach as exhibit when required.
• Plead tenancy type precisely — do not assume joint tenancy without record support.
• Tie partition-by-sale allegations to concrete property facts; avoid conclusory statements.
• Check local rules for verification, special notices, or pre-filing ADR requirements.
• Never include settlement communications or privileged material.
• Plead statutory or contractual basis for any fee or credit requests.

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Key changes made:

• Description: Tightened to one sentence of purpose + one sentence of trigger guidance; removed keyword list (tags and description text handle discoverability).
• Removed template skeleton: The verbose caption template added tokens without instructional value — the pleading structure already covers ordering.
• Merged Prerequisites into Quick Start: Combined the prerequisites list and facts-intake table into a single "Quick Start" table, eliminating redundancy.
• Renamed sections: "Output Structure / Process" → "Pleading Structure" (direct); "Guidelines" → "Pitfalls" (standard best-practice heading); "Partition Type Checklist" → "Partition-by-Sale Checklist" (more precise).
• Compressed pleading steps: Each step is now a single dash-separated line instead of bold + multi-line prose, cutting ~40% of tokens in that section while preserving all substantive guidance.
• Removed "Property use" row: It was not referenced elsewhere in the skill and isn't a required pleading element — improvements are captured under encumbrances/contributions.