Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Is there a reason you have not filed for dissolution of your domestic partnership and motions to have the property sold in that proceeding? That would usually be far more expedited than a partition action.

Mr. McCormick is right, assuming you were registered domestic partners. If not, partition is the only legal process that leads to the desired result, so you'll just have to tough it out, EXCEPT that a very high percentage of partition cases settle, more-or-less "out of court" long before a final court decree. The reasons include the fact that reluctant defendants sooner or later see the handwriting on the wall, or decide they'd rather receive cash from sale of the property rather than fork over cash to an attorney, etc. etc. So, unless your co-owner desires to punish you at whatever cost to herself, at some point in the legal process she should become amenable to a settlement. Sometimes if the parties can't negotiate a settlement themselves (because of mistrust or hostility), they are at least willing to turn the matter over to a private and neutral arbitrator for decision, handling of the sale, distribution of net proceeds, etc.