Partition Action Complaint - Washington

WASHINGTON PARTITION ACTION — COMPLAINT FOR PARTITION OF REAL PROPERTY

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF [____________________]

No.: [________________]

COMPLAINT FOR PARTITION OF REAL PROPERTY
(RCW ch. 7.52; RCW ch. 7.54)

Plaintiff, [PLAINTIFF NAME], by and through undersigned counsel, alleges as follows:

I. PARTIES AND COTENANCY

1. Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME] is [a resident of / a (entity type) organized under the laws of] [____________________], residing or with a principal place of business at [________________________________].

2. Defendant [COTENANT DEFENDANT NAME] is, upon information and belief, [a resident of / a (entity type)] with a last known address at [________________________________].

3. "Unknown Persons" are persons or entities, including unknown heirs, devisees, successors, and assigns of any deceased record cotenant, whose identities or addresses cannot be ascertained after diligent inquiry.

4. Plaintiff and Defendants own the Property as cotenants in the following undivided fractional shares (the "Cotenancy"):

5. ☐ Spousal / community-property interests. One or more cotenant interests is [community property / the separate property of a married person / held with a spouse]. The spouse(s) [____________________] [is / are] joined as necessary part[y/ies] to adjudicate any community or separate marital interest in the Property. Partition under RCW ch. 7.52 applies to the cotenancy among the owners; this Complaint does not seek to divide community property between spouses, which is reserved for dissolution proceedings if applicable.

6. ☐ Heirs property. The Property is held in tenancy in common, one or more cotenants acquired title from a relative, and the additional ownership criteria in RCW 7.54.010(5) may be satisfied, such that the Property may constitute "heirs property" (the Court must make that determination under RCW 7.54.120).

II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE

7. This Court has jurisdiction over this partition action pursuant to RCW 7.52.010 and Article IV, Section 6 of the Washington Constitution.

8. Venue is proper in this County under RCW 4.12.010(1) because the real property that is the subject of this action is located in [____________________] County, Washington.

III. THE PROPERTY

9. The real property that is the subject of this action (the "Property") is commonly known as:

Street Address: [________________________________]
City/County: [____________________], Washington
Tax Parcel No.: [________________________________]
Recording / Auditor's File No.: [________________________________]

10. The full legal description of the Property is attached as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by reference. (RCW 7.52.080 requires the complaint to set forth the interests of the parties and a description of the property.)

IV. NATURE OF TITLE AND RIGHT TO PARTITION

11. Plaintiff and Defendants hold record title to the Property as cotenants under the instrument(s) described in Paragraph 4, recorded with the Auditor of [____________________] County, Washington.

12. As a person owning an undivided interest in the Property jointly or in common with others, Plaintiff is entitled to maintain this action for partition under RCW 7.52.010.

13. The cotenants are unable to agree upon the use, management, or disposition of the Property, and no enforceable agreement bars partition.

14. Plaintiff is entitled to partition of the Property.

V. PARTITION IN KIND OR BY SALE

15. ☐ Partition in kind. The Property can be physically divided among the cotenants in proportion to their respective undivided shares without great prejudice to the owners, and partition in kind is favored under RCW ch. 7.52.

16. ☐ Owelty. If the Property cannot be divided into shares exactly proportionate in value, the Court may order owelty payments to equalize the partition in kind pursuant to RCW 7.52.480.

17. ☐ Partition by sale. The Property cannot be partitioned in kind without great prejudice to the owners, and the Court should order a sale of the Property and distribution of the net proceeds among the parties according to their respective interests pursuant to RCW 7.52.250.

18. ☐ Heirs-property procedure (RCW ch. 7.54). If the Court determines the Property is heirs property under RCW 7.54.120, the Property must be partitioned under RCW ch. 7.54 unless all cotenants otherwise agree in a record. The Court must determine fair market value, ordinarily through a court-appointed disinterested licensed appraiser unless all cotenants agree on value or the Court finds the appraisal's evidentiary value is outweighed by its cost. The chapter then provides notice and a buyout opportunity for eligible cotenants, requires partition in kind unless it would cause great prejudice to the cotenants as a group, and permits partition by sale only under the statutory alternatives. A court-ordered sale is ordinarily an open-market sale unless sealed bids or auction would be more economically advantageous and in the cotenants' best interest. RCW 7.54.040-.080.

VI. ACCOUNTING AMONG COTENANTS

19. An accounting and equitable adjustment among the cotenants is necessary and should be incorporated into the partition decree. The following credits, charges, and offsets are claimed:

a. ☐ Contributions. Sums advanced by Plaintiff for the common benefit, including [☐ mortgage principal and interest / ☐ real estate taxes / ☐ hazard insurance / ☐ necessary repairs and capital improvements / ☐ assessments], in the approximate amount of $[____________].

b. ☐ Rents and profits. Rents, profits, or the reasonable rental value received or enjoyed by a cotenant in exclusive possession, in the approximate amount of $[____________].

c. ☐ Ouster. Defendant [____________________] has ousted or excluded Plaintiff from possession since [__/__/____], entitling Plaintiff to an offset for the reasonable rental value of Plaintiff's share during the period of exclusion.

d. ☐ Waste / diminution. Damage to or waste of the Property attributable to a cotenant, in the approximate amount of $[____________].

e. ☐ Owelty. Owelty payments necessary to equalize the value of in-kind allotments under RCW 7.52.480.

20. The Court should adjust each cotenant's distributive share of the Property (or of the net sale proceeds) to reflect the foregoing accounting.

VII. APPOINTMENT OF REFEREE(S)

21. Plaintiff requests that the Court appoint [one / three] referee(s) pursuant to RCW 7.52.100 to make partition in kind where practicable, to conduct any sale ordered by the Court, and to report to the Court.

VIII. LIS PENDENS AND NOTICE

22. Plaintiff has filed or will file a Notice of Lis Pendens pursuant to RCW 4.28.320, giving constructive notice of the pendency of this action affecting title to the Property.

23. After diligent inquiry, the identities and/or addresses of certain Defendants cannot be ascertained, and Plaintiff will seek service by publication as provided by law.

IX. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for judgment as follows:

A. Determining the respective undivided interests of all parties in the Property;
B. Ordering partition of the Property in kind among the cotenants in proportion to their interests, with owelty as necessary under RCW 7.52.480;
C. In the alternative, if partition in kind cannot be made without great prejudice to the owners, ordering a sale of the Property under RCW 7.52.250 and distribution of the net proceeds according to the parties' interests;
D. If the Court determines the Property is heirs property, conducting the action under RCW ch. 7.54, including appraisal, notice, and the cotenant buyout opportunity, before any sale;
E. Appointing referee(s) under RCW 7.52.100 to effect the partition or sale;
F. Ordering an accounting among the cotenants and adjusting the distributive shares for contributions, rents, ouster, waste, and owelty as set forth herein;
G. Apportioning the costs and expenses of partition among the parties in proportion to their interests pursuant to RCW 7.52.440, and awarding Plaintiff costs and reasonable attorney's fees as permitted by law; and
H. Granting such other and further relief as the Court deems just and equitable.

DATED this [__] day of [__________], 20[__].

[________________________________]
[ATTORNEY NAME], WSBA No. [_______]
[FIRM NAME]
[Address]
[Phone] | [Email]
Attorney for Plaintiff

VERIFICATION

STATE OF WASHINGTON )
) ss.
COUNTY OF [____________] )

I, [PLAINTIFF NAME], declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that I am the Plaintiff in the above-captioned action, that I have read the foregoing Complaint for Partition, and that the matters stated therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.

Signed at [____________________], Washington, on [__/__/____].

[________________________________]
[PLAINTIFF NAME]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on [__/__/____] I caused a true and correct copy of the foregoing Complaint for Partition to be served upon the following, by [☐ personal service / ☐ certified mail, return receipt requested / ☐ service of process / ☐ publication], at the addresses below:

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that the foregoing is true and correct.

[________________________________]
[NAME]

EXHIBIT INDEX

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• RCW ch. 7.52 (Partition of real property): https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=7.52
• RCW ch. 7.54 (Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act): https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=7.54&full=true
• RCW 7.54.120 (Application): https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=7.54.120
• RCW 4.12.010 (Mandatory venue): https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.12.010
• RCW 4.28.320 (Lis pendens): https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=4.28.320

END OF WASHINGTON PARTITION ACTION TEMPLATE