Partition Action Complaint - Maine

MAINE COMPLAINT FOR PARTITION OF REAL ESTATE

PART 1 — PRE-FILING CHECKLIST

☐ Obtain a current title abstract identifying co-owners and others whose property rights may be affected; identify the people to join or notify for the relief requested. For equitable relief under § 6051(7), join all interested persons within the Court's jurisdiction.
☐ Determine each owner's fractional interest and estate (fee simple or life).
☐ Decide whether to seek a physical division under 14 M.R.S. § 6501 or equitable sale or buyout relief under § 6051(7), 4 M.R.S. § 152(5)(O)(2-A), and Strand v. Velandry, 2020 ME 38.
☐ Compile evidence of each co-owner's payments, improvements, rents received, and possession. Section 6514 addresses improvements under its consent conditions; § 6515 addresses an equalizing payment for an oversized parcel. In an equitable case, identify the evidence for each requested credit or offset.
☐ Confirm venue (Superior Court or District Court in the county where the property is located).
☐ Identify persons outside the action whose claims may survive a partition judgment under 14 M.R.S. §§ 6522–6523; do not assume the judgment binds a nonparty.
☐ If third-party notice is sought, after filing the complaint obtain the clerk's certification of a certificate naming the parties, the complaint date and filing date, and the real estate description from the complaint; record it in the registry of deeds for the county or district where the land lies (14 M.R.S. § 4455(2)). A duly made and recorded attachment is the statute's other route.
☐ File a completed and signed Civil Summary Sheet (CV-001) with the complaint under M.R. Civ. P. 5(h). Mark the real-estate/title question and the appropriate partition nature of action.
☐ Obtain a summons with the clerk's signature and court seal, complete it under M.R. Civ. P. 4(a)-(b), and arrange Rule 4 service of the summons, complaint, and notice regarding Electronic Service together on each known defendant. Seek a Rule 4(g) order for publication to unknown claimants under § 6503.

PART 2 — COMPLAINT

Court Caption

STATE OF MAINE
[____________________], ss.
[☐ SUPERIOR COURT / ☐ DISTRICT COURT]
Location: [____________________]

Docket No.: [________________________________]

COMPLAINT FOR PARTITION OF REAL ESTATE (14 M.R.S. § 6501 et seq.)

NOW COMES the Plaintiff and complains against the Defendants as follows:

I. Parties

1. Plaintiff [____________________________________] is a [☐ natural person residing in / ☐ entity organized under the laws of] [____________________], with an address at [________________________________________________], and is seized of or has a right of entry into the real estate described below as a tenant in common or joint tenant (14 M.R.S. § 6501).

2. Defendant [____________________________________] is, upon information and belief, a [☐ natural person / ☐ entity] with last known address at [________________________________________________], and is a co-owner of the Property.

3. The following persons hold an easement, right of way, lien, or other interest that may be affected by the relief sought and are joined as parties: [____________________________________].

Other tenants in common, their residences if known, and whether any are unknown (§ 6502): [____________________________________].

4. ☐ A person interested in the Property may require a court-appointed guardian ad litem or agent under the circumstances specified in 14 M.R.S. § 6505. Identify the person and circumstances: [____________________________________].

II. Jurisdiction and Venue

5. Plaintiff brings a statutory partition claim under 14 M.R.S. §§ 6501–6502. If equitable relief is selected below, Plaintiff also seeks relief among part owners under § 6051(7). The Superior Court has jurisdiction under § 6051; the District Court may grant equitable relief in a sale-partition action under 4 M.R.S. § 152(5)(O)(2-A).

6. Venue is proper in [____________________] County, where the Property is located.

III. The Property

7. The real estate subject to partition (the "Property") is located at [STREET ADDRESS, CITY], [____________________] County, Maine, and is described as follows (14 M.R.S. § 6502):

Legal Description: [____________________________________________________________]

Map / Lot (Tax Map): [____________________________________]

Source of Title (Registry Book/Page): [____________________________________]

IV. Ownership and Respective Interests

8. The Property is held by the parties as [☐ tenants in common / ☐ joint tenants] in the following respective interests:

9. Plaintiff acquired Plaintiff's interest by [☐ Deed / ☐ inheritance / ☐ devise] as follows: [____________________________________], recorded in the [____________________] County Registry of Deeds, Book [______], Page [______]; or [Estate Docket No. ____________].

V. Entitlement to Partition

10. Plaintiff and the Defendant co-owners hold the Property as tenants in common or joint tenants. The co-owners cannot agree upon the use, management, allocation of costs, or disposition of the Property, and Plaintiff is entitled to compel a partition under 14 M.R.S. § 6501.

VI. Form of Partition Requested

11. Plaintiff requests the following form of partition (check one):

☐ Statutory / physical partition (14 M.R.S. §§ 6501, 6511). The Property can be physically divided among the co-owners. Plaintiff requests that the Court appoint three (3) or five (5) disinterested commissioners to make a partition of the Property, to report their division by majority decision (14 M.R.S. § 6513), and, if any share is allotted a parcel of greater value than the owner's just proportion, to provide for proportionate compensation to the other owners. Any such payment must be paid or secured before the commissioners' report is accepted (§ 6515).

☐ Equitable relief (14 M.R.S. § 6051(7); Strand v. Velandry, 2020 ME 38). Physical division is impractical because [FACTS: ______________]. Plaintiff requests [☐ sale and division of net proceeds / ☐ a court-approved buyout followed by sale if the buyout fails / ☐ other supported relief: ______________].

VII. Accounting Among Co-owners

12. Plaintiff requests an accounting of the following proved contributions and offsets. Section 6514 addresses improvements under its stated consent conditions in a physical partition. In Strand, the court credited stipulated expenses before dividing sale proceeds; a credit must be supported by the facts of this case:

☐ Contributions paid by a co-owner beyond that owner's proportionate share — mortgage principal and interest, ad valorem taxes, insurance, assessments, and necessary repairs/preservation: [____________________________________].

☐ Improvements and the other owners' consent, if invoking 14 M.R.S. § 6514: [____________________________________].

☐ Rents and profits collected by a co-owner, or the reasonable rental value attributable to a co-owner's exclusive possession or ouster of another co-owner: [____________________________________].

☐ Owelty / equalizing payment to balance a parcel of greater value allotted in a physical partition (14 M.R.S. § 6515): [____________________________________].

13. Plaintiff requests that the Court determine the foregoing accounting and adjust the parties' respective shares of the Property, or of the net sale proceeds, accordingly.

VIII. Prayer for Relief

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Court:

A. Determine the respective interests of the parties in the Property;

B. Order partition of the Property [☐ by appointing three or five disinterested commissioners to make a physical division and report under 14 M.R.S. §§ 6511, 6513 / ☐ by equitable partition under 14 M.R.S. § 6051(7), ordering a sale and division of proceeds, a buyout, or other appropriate relief];

C. Determine the accounting among the co-owners and adjust the parties' respective shares of the Property or proceeds to reflect contributions, rents/ouster offsets, improvements, and any equalizing (owelty) payment;

D. Allocate litigation costs under the circumstances and notice procedure of 14 M.R.S. § 6508 and, on a plaintiff's request, apportion partition charges and expenses after notice under § 6516;

E. For a physical partition, confirm, recommit, or set aside the commissioners' report and enter and record judgment as provided in 14 M.R.S. § 6521; for equitable relief, enter an order appropriate to the proved facts; and

F. Grant such other and further relief as the Court deems just and equitable.

Dated: [__/__/____]

[LAW FIRM NAME]

By: ______________________________
[Attorney name], Maine Bar No. [__________]
[Firm address]
[Phone] | [Email]
ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFF

PART 3 — VERIFICATION

STATE OF MAINE
COUNTY OF [____________________], ss.

Personally appeared the above-named [____________________________________], who, being duly sworn, deposes and states that [☐ I am the Plaintiff / ☐ I am authorized to verify this Complaint on Plaintiff's behalf]; that I have read the foregoing Complaint for Partition; and that the facts stated therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.

______________________________
[Plaintiff Name]

Subscribed and sworn to before me this [____] day of [______________], [______].

______________________________
Notary Public / Attorney-at-Law — State of Maine
My commission expires: [__/__/____]

PART 4 — CLERK-CERTIFIED CERTIFICATE OF PENDING TITLE ACTION (14 M.R.S. § 4455)

CLERK'S CERTIFICATE / NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF ACTION

For recording under 14 M.R.S. § 4455(2), the clerk certifies that the following action affecting title to the real estate described below is pending. Complete this certificate from the filed complaint and obtain the clerk's certification before recording.

Real Estate Affected (legal description as stated in the complaint):

[____________________________________________________________]

Dated this [____] day of [______________], [______].

______________________________
Clerk of Courts, [____________________] County

Clerk certification / seal, if used: [________________________________]

After recording, return to: [Attorney name and firm address]

PART 5 — RETURN OF SERVICE

Use a separate return for each defendant. The person serving process must make proof on the original summons or an attached paper; counsel must file it with the court (M.R. Civ. P. 4(h)). Counsel's certificate or electronic filing alone does not prove service of the original complaint.

Defendant: [____________________] Address or place served: [____________________]

Date and time served: [____________________] Server and authority to serve: [____________________]

Method and person served: [personal delivery / dwelling delivery with recipient's name and relationship / other authorized method and governing rule or order: ____________________]

Documents delivered together: ☐ summons ☐ complaint ☐ notice regarding Electronic Service ☐ court order, if applicable

______________________________
[Server signature] Date: [__/__/____]

If the server is neither a sheriff or deputy nor otherwise authorized by law, attach the server's affidavit. For first-class mail under Rule 4(c)(1), file the signed acknowledgment; if none arrives within 20 days, use another permitted method. For a qualifying out-of-state title claim, Rule 4(f)(1) permits restricted-delivery registered or certified mail with return receipt after diligent in-state service efforts; file the receipt or proof required after refusal. Publication requires a Rule 4(g) order and an affidavit proving compliance with that order.

Sources and References

• 14 M.R.S. ch. 719 (Partition of Real Estate), §§ 6501–6525: https://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/14/title14ch719sec0.html
• 14 M.R.S. § 6501 (Civil action — partition): https://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/14/title14sec6501.html
• 14 M.R.S. § 6511 (Commissioners; appointment) and § 6513 (notice; majority report)
• 14 M.R.S. §§ 6514–6516 (exclusive possession/improvements; parcel of greater value; expenses apportioned)
• 14 M.R.S. § 6051(7) (Superior Court equity jurisdiction among part owners); Strand v. Velandry, 2020 ME 38 (affirming a partition buyout-or-sale judgment): https://www.courts.maine.gov/courts/sjc/lawcourt/2020/20me038.pdf
• 4 M.R.S. § 152(5)(O)(2-A) (District Court sale-partition jurisdiction): https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/4/title4sec152.html
• 14 M.R.S. § 4455 (recorded attachment or clerk-certified certificate for third-party effect): https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec4455.html
• M.R. Civ. P. 4(a)-(c), (f)-(h), 5(h), process, return, and Summary Sheet: https://www.courts.maine.gov/rules/text/mr_civ_p_only_2026-06-01.pdf
• Maine Judicial Branch Civil Summary Sheet (CV-001): https://mjbportal.courts.maine.gov/CourtForms/FormsLists/DownloadForm?strFormNumber=CV-001