Inherited real estate often ends up owned by several relatives at once. One lives in the house and pays no rent. One wants to be bought out. One has stopped returning calls. The property taxes still come due every year.
Texas has two partition statutes that can apply. Chapter 23 of the Property Code governs partition generally. Chapter 23A, the Uniform Partition of Heirs’ Property Act, applies when the property qualifies as heirs’ property, and among other changes it lets co-owners buy out a co-owner who asks for a sale.
| Topic | Ordinary partition, chapter 23 | Heirs’ property, chapter 23A |
|---|---|---|
| Statute | Property Code §§23.001 and 23.002. | Property Code §§23A.002, 23A.003, 23A.006 and 23A.007. |
| Covers | Real property, or an interest in it, held by joint owners or claimants, and jointly owned personal property. | Real property held in tenancy in common with no written agreement binding all co-owners that governs partition, where at least one co-owner took title from a relative and relatives hold a substantial share. The statute uses 20 percent tests. |
| Buyout | No statutory buyout procedure. | The court sets fair market value, usually by appraisal, and the co-owners who did not ask for a sale may buy out those who did. |
| Forum | Partition of real property may be brought in a district court of a county where any part of the property is located. | In a partition action, the court determines whether the property is heirs’ property. If it is, chapter 23A governs unless all co-owners agree otherwise in writing. |
Property Code §§23.001, 23.002, 23A.002, 23A.003, 23A.006 and 23A.007.
Chapter 23A was written for land that has passed through a family for a generation or two. Ownership is usually split into small fractions, no one holds a majority, and a single co-owner could otherwise push the whole tract toward a forced sale.
Under §23A.006, the court determines the property’s fair market value by ordering an appraisal, unless the co-owners agree on a value or the cost of an appraisal outweighs its usefulness. Once value is set, §23A.007 gives the co-owners who did not request a sale 45 days to elect to buy the interests of those who did. The price is the property’s value multiplied by the selling co-owner’s fractional interest, and buyers then have 60 days to pay. In practice, much of the fight in these cases is over the appraisal.
The last situation usually has to be resolved first. Until a court decides who inherited which share, there is no reliable list of owners to divide the property among, and the title stays clouded. That is a contested heirship question.
Nueces County has no statutory probate court. Probate is heard by the county courts at law, which also hear other civil cases.
Government Code §25.1802(a)(2) gives a Nueces County court at law concurrent jurisdiction with the district court in disputes ancillary to probate relating to the adjudication and determination of land titles and trusts, regardless of the amount in controversy or the remedy sought. When a title dispute grows out of an estate already pending in a county court at law, it can generally be heard in that court along with the estate, whatever the property is worth.
Government Code §25.1802(a)(2).
Families that fight over land have often been in court before, in a case that may still be open or may have been dismissed years ago. Before we file, we pull any earlier case involving the same relatives or the same land, because an older filing can affect where the new case belongs and what has already been decided.
Kreig LLC is a litigation practice. The work includes partition and inherited property disputes, will contests, contested heirship proceedings, executor removal and trust litigation. The full list is on the practice page.
Office: Kreig LLC, 710 Buffalo St., Suite 802, Corpus Christi, TX 78401, by appointment. Serving Nueces, San Patricio, Kleberg, Aransas and Jim Wells counties.
Bring the deed, the tax statements and the names of everyone who claims an interest in the property. We will tell you which partition statute likely applies and what your options are.
The first call is short and free.