California Partition Law Blog
For family members of a deceased loved one, the most important part of probate proceedings is the final distribution of the estate. This occurs once the estate’s debts and obligations have been satisfied, and it serves to more or less end the probate of the estate.
But what if someone thinks they’re entitled to a share of the estate but was left out of the proceedings from the outset? This is where the petition to determine distribution rights comes into play. It’s a legal mechanism whereby omitted heirs or interested parties ask to court to be included in the final distribution.
Yes. When co-owners of property decide they want to go their separate ways but cannot come to an agreement on a buyout or reimbursements, they can institute a partition action and have the court system solve the problem for them.