Division of joint ownership of real estate

How does our cooperation work and what do you get as part of the service?

You will appreciate this service if:

• You need to consult the various options for the settlement of co-ownership, their advantages and disadvantages.
• You do not want to bring property disputes into your family relations and want to resolve everything in the presence of an impartial expert.
• You cannot reach an agreement with the other co-owners and need to resolve the co-ownership settlement in court.
• You are looking for someone who will protect your rights and help you avoid an unfavorable agreement.

What have we already helped clients with?

During our many years of practice, we have helped people in a variety of situations:

• We helped with the settlement of co-ownership of an apartment house in Hradčany, which was acquired by three siblings. However, each of them had slightly different ideas about the disposal of their property. While one of the brothers wanted to live in the house himself and eventually move his children into the other flats, the other lived abroad and wanted to rent out the flats as cheaply as possible and thus have a steady income. The sister of both brothers, on the other hand, wanted to sell her share and invest the money in another type of housing. Eventually, an agreement was reached in the sense that the eldest brother bought out the shares of both siblings and a mechanism for repayment of the shares was set up.
• We dealt with a complex situation in a family house occupied by one extended family. There were four smaller flats in the house, but they were not legally defined as housing units. Therefore, the individual flats had not been assigned specific owners, as this had not yet been resolved with good family relations. At one point, however, a third share in the house was purchased by a stranger and it was necessary to clarify the relationship legally. The whole matter had to be resolved in court when no agreement could be reached, and we successfully represented the remaining family members, who regained the house and paid off the one-third share.
• We helped to settle the relations between four siblings who jointly owned a house in Smíchov, Prague. Three of the four siblings occupied the house, but refused to pay any form of rent in their property on principle. However, the fourth of them, the youngest brother Radim, who did not live in the house, but did not benefit from it in any other way. Eventually, with the unpleasant prospect of a possible court settlement, the family managed to get Radim to pay his share, while the three remaining siblings redefined their shares.

What can you expect from an Affordable Lawyer?

In our practice we have handled many cases related to the division of co-ownership. There are always multiple solutions, and each time the needs of the individual co-owners, their preferences regarding the division, as well as the actual form of the property in co-ownership must be considered. The various options may include:

• Real division of the property – if this is legally and factually possible – for example, the land will be demarcated and divided as it corresponds to the individual shares.
• Transfer of the share to one co-owner and payment of the other one with an adequate amount (this option has further modifications in case of a higher number of co-owners – e.g. payment of only one co-owner and demarcation of new shares among the others, etc.).
• Sale of the thing and distribution of the proceeds from the sale according to the shares.

Client Service Guarantees

As it is clear from the above examples, the settlement of co-ownership very often cannot be solved by “mere” application of the law, but the complex structure of family relationships must be taken into account in advance. This often has wider implications for the resolution of a given situation. That is why we consult with our clients every step of the way and proceed with the solution as sensitively as possible so that our approach does not cause further escalation of the relationship.