Seattle Partition Referee
Many states have statutes governing disputes between joint owners of real property. In such instances, owners may file a lawsuit to compel the sale of property via partition. In Washington, the Revised Code of Washington, Section 7.52.080 provides as follows:
Who We Work With
Trust & Estates Attorneys
Trust & Estates attorneys often seek appointment of partition referees when family members inherit property, and a dispute arises regarding the sale of the property.
Litigators
Trial attorneys often seek appointment of partition referees when co-owners of real property get into a dispute regarding the sale of the property.
Types of Cases/Properties
Partition cases typically involve family members or partners/investors in real property. These individuals develop a dispute regarding the ownership of the property.
Clients Who Trusted Us
About our court-appointed Seattle partition referees
A partition action is the only court ordered process in California to bring an end to real estate co-ownership disputes. Under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 872.210, a partition action is a legal process taken to divide a California real estate equitably among its co-owners.
Our experienced Seattle partition referees have experience in selling residential and commercial property throughout California. This process may include an analysis of competing claims, an accounting of receipts and disbursements, the use of forensic accountants any report to the court with recommendations regarding disbursements to the co-owners. Consideration must be given to secured and unsecured creditors as well as competing claims of each co-owner ultimately culminating in an order from the court directing the referee to distribute funds pursuant to court order.
Stephen J. Donell Los Angeles
President of FedReceiver, Inc., Jalmar Properties, Inc. and Donell Expert Services, Inc.
James H. Donell Los Angeles
Founder and Chief Executive Office of FedReceiver, Inc. and Jalmar Properties, Inc.
Todd D. Donell Los Angeles
Executive Vice President of FedReceiver, Inc. and Jalmar Properties, Inc.
Sarah R. Bates Los Angeles
Vice President of FedReceiver, Inc. and Jalmar Properties, Inc.
Locations Served
With cases involving assets throughout the country and internationally, FedReceiver, Inc. provides nation-wide receivership services including international asset recovery.
Alameda, Butte, County of San Francisco, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Marin, Orange County, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernadino, San Diego, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Ventura County, and the California District Court
States with cases/assets include Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.
How we work together
We match our training, experience, expertise, licensing and credentials with the needs of each case to identify the appropriate use of the proposed remedy including receivership, partition referee, provision director and dissolution manager.
Reach out
Reach out to us via our contact page or call our office.
Set an Appointment
An initial call will allow for an initial assessment of the proposed case.
Sample Pleadings & Orders
With approximately 800 cases, FedReceiver has a vast library of exemplars including motions seeking appointment of referee, orders appointing referee, interlocutory judgments and memorandum of points & authorities.
References
We offer excellent references with local and national law firms, accounting firms and clients.
Court Experience
Given our decades of experience and hundreds of cases, we have appeared in state/federal court and have excellent relationships with numerous courts/judges.
Seattle Partition Referee FAQs
What is a Court Partition Referee?
A partition referee is appointed in connection with the filing of a lawsuit involving the partition of real property. After an interlocutory judgment is obtained, a partition referee may be appointed. The partition referee takes possession in order to sell the property pursuant to the court order. Read more.
What is a Washington Partition Action?
In the State of Washington when more than one person is a co-owner of the property and one of those individuals wants to sell and the other does not want, the law in the State of Washington allows the sale of property through a legal action known as partition. Read more.
Why would a co-owner file a partition suit?
A co-owner of real estate in the State of Washington may seek to force a sale through the use of a partition referee. This is accomplished by filing a lawsuit for partition and seeking to have a court-appointed referee appointed by the court. It is very common for family members who inherit property from their deceased relatives to end up in disputes. One relative may want to hold onto the property and another relative may want to sell the property. Read more.
What is a partition by sale lawsuit?
This is a process in the State of Washington that involves a court-ordered sale of jointly owned property. This usually occurs as a result of a disagreement between two or more owners of real property when one owner wants to sell the property and another does not want to do so. A typical scenario involves children that have inherited real estate from their deceased parents.
There are 2 primary types of partition actions. One is known as a partition by sale and in this instance, the court divides the property into separate portions based upon a ruling of the court and the partition referee distributes the sales proceeds pursuant to a court order. The 2nd type of partition action is known as a partition in kind. Although there is another method known as partition by appraisal where one party is ordered to buy out the ownership interests of the other, this is not common.
What is the partition referee appointment process?
A joint real property owner must file a lawsuit to have respective ownership interests partitioned. This occurs when one co-owner of real property wants to sell the property but the other co-owners do not want to sell. The filing of the complaint permits the forced sale of the property.
A trial occurs thereafter to adjudicate the propriety of the plaintiff’s right to have the property partitioned and seek the appointment of a referee. If the Court approves the plaintiff’s right to seek a court-appointed partition referee, an interlocutory judgment for partition is entered. After entry of the interlocutory judgment, the Court may issue an order appointing a referee.
The Interlocutory Judgment determines the respective ownership interests and how to divide the property to be partitioned, orders the partition of the property, and determines the method of partition.
What is the partition referee sales process?
The property may be sold either via public or private sale, and the referee may make recommendations with respect thereto including the “manner, terms, and conditions of sale”. The Court will only approve the referee’s recommended manner of sale after the conclusion of a hearing upon noticed motion.
Property is typically sold by private sale with the use of a real estate broker. The Court will confirm the sale at a confirmation hearing, at which time, the Court may confirm the proposed sale including all terms/conditions contained in the purchase and sale agreement, or it may reject the proposed sale and direct that a new sale be made. The minimum overbid is an increased offer that exceeds the sale price by 10% on the first $10,000.00 and 5% on the amount in excess thereof and the appeal period begins upon the circulation of the order confirming the sale and expires 60 days thereafter. The referee may only execute the referee’s deed upon receipt of the signed order confirming the sale.
How does a partition referee distribute sales proceeds?
The Court may order an accounting prior to the distribution of proceeds with recommended offsets. This may be a result of waste or nuisance caused by one of the co-owners of the property. It could also relate to rents collected by one party and not shared with another co-owner. The referee will ordinarily file a report with the Court, including the accounting, and recommended distribution. Following the hearing and receipt of an order approving distribution, the referee may proceed with disbursing net sales proceeds pursuant to Court Order.
Sales proceeds shall be distributed in order of priority (1) sales expenses, including referee’s fees (2) other costs of partition, (3) real property liens; and (4) distribution of the balance to the parties as determined by the Court.
Review the chapter authored by Mr. Donell
Reviving the Financially Distressed Business
Reviving The Financially Distressed Business is the essential guide for business owners and corporate leaders whose companies are under—or anticipating—financial difficulties. See Chapter 11, Receiverships, written by Court Receiver Stephen Donell, CCIM, CPM
Steve Donell’s contribution to the book “Reviving a Financially Distressed Business” reflects not only his expertise as a receiver, but his sound judgment on how receivership can be used to effectively advance a financially troubled business.”
– Brian Davidoff, Esq. Author and Editor
