There are times when co-owners of Hawaii real property are engaged in a dispute and no longer wish to continue co-ownership of such property, or one party is no longer making payments on the mortgage and the paying party wants to remove the non-paying party from title.
The question that usually follows is what are the co-owners’ options if they wish to sever such relationship (other ways to phrase this include, “How can I kick off someone from title to the Hawaii real estate” and “How do I remove a co-owner”).
How Do You Terminate Co-Ownership of Real Estate in Hawaii?
In the event that there is no prior written agreement among the co-owners setting forth each owner’s obligations (such as a co-tenancy agreement) and the procedures for resolving disputes, the co-owners are basically left with two options:
- Work out some agreement to resolve the dispute; or
- Terminate the co-owner relationship through a court supervised partition action
The co-owners should first try to resolve their differences and come to some compromise. By reaching such a compromise, the co-owners would not need a partition action which can be a very costly process. However, if seeking such an agreement proves to be a dead end, then a Hawaii partition action is necessary.
What Is Termination of Co-Ownership by Partition?
In a partition action, one or more of the owners files a lawsuit against the remaining owner(s). The filing party is also required to join as a party every person having or claiming to have any legal or equitable right, title, or interest in the property described in the lawsuit.
Once a partition action is filed, the court has the jurisdiction to partition the real property by (1) partition in kind or (2) partition by sale. A “partition in kind” occurs when the court physically divides the property and each owner ends up controlling an individual portion of the property.
A “partition by sale” is accomplished by selling the entire property at a public auction and dividing the proceeds among the owners according to their respective interests in the property. The courts tend to favor a partition in kind first, but if such division is not feasible, then the court will proceed with a partition by sale.
Contact Our Attorneys
As you can see, terminating a co-ownership relationship of Hawaii real property is not that simple and can be costly. Money is best spent on having us document the original agreement between the co-owners. However, if that is already too late, contact us and, as your attorneys, we can guide you through this difficult process.
More Articles on Hawaii Real Estate Law
- Duties and Responsibilities of the Selling Agent Regarding the Hawaii Seller’s Real Property Disclosure Statement for Hawaii Residential Real Estate
- Hawaii Agreement of Sale
- Hawaii “For Sale by Owner”
- Hawaii Commercial Lease Interest Rate and Usury
- Hawaii Commercial Leases: Issues You Must Consider
- Hawaii Contractors Disclosure Requirements to Hawaii Homeowners
- Hawaii Land Court Petitions Explained
- Hawaii Regular System and Land Court Recording System
- Hiring a Hawaii General Contractor
- Landlords Who Reside Outside of Hawaii Are Required to Have Hawaii Property Managers
- Mandatory Seller Disclosures for Hawaii Residential Real Estate
- Probate of Hawaii Real Estate Owned by Japanese Citizens
- Should a Hawaii Purchase Contract (DROA) Be Used in Purchasing Hawaii Commercial Property?
- Terminating Co-Ownership of Hawaii Real Estate Property
- The Process of Claiming and Attaching a Mechanic’s or Materialman’s Lien in Hawaii
- The Role of Hawaii Attorneys in Purchasing Hawaii Residential Real Estate
- The Security Deposit Under Hawaii’s Residential Landlord-Tenant Code
- Understanding the “As Is” Addendum to the Hawaii Association of Realtor’s Standard Form Purchase Contract
- Using a Letter of Intent in a Hawaii Real Estate Sale or Purchase
- What Is the Hawaii Dual Agency Disclosure Form?
- Why a Landlord Must Tailor the Standard Hawaii Rental Agreement
- Why a Purchaser of Hawaii Real Estate May Want to Delete an Arbitration Paragraph
- Why Hawaii Commercial Leases for Exactly a Five Year Term Should Be Avoided
- Why Your Surveying Paragraph in a Hawaii Purchase Contract May be Inadequate When Purchasing Hawaii Residential Real Estate
