Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Virginia
Two owners of one piece of land
2 brothers were left land when their parents passed away. The land was left as a whole to both brothers. It was not divided and each told what piece was who's. A big mistake in my opinion. Now one brother has children who wants to build houses on the land. What is the best thing to do. Split the land so each brother has their part of the land and can do with it as they please. How can the land be split fairly. Some is open land and some is wooded. What is the best legal action to take. The other brother does not want to split the land. I do not understand how this will work when the 1 piece of land will be left to the 2 brothers 4 children once they pass away. Right now nothing can be done with the land the way I see it. Thank you.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Two owners of one piece of land
If one brother does not wish to divide the property which he inherited with his other brother, the latter will need to retain an attorney knowledgeable in real property law to
file a suit to partition in the circuit court in the jurisdiction where the property is located.
This court will then make the decisions regarding the division of the property(which could include its mandatory sale) which will answer all of the questions which you've raised.
Re: Two owners of one piece of land
The brothers as a practical matter will either need to agree on a use of the land or to have it partitioned (divided), or one can petition the Court to partition it. If partition in fact is not feasible, it can order the property sold in lieu of partition, but large acreage is generally suitable to actual partition. The Court will generally try to take the parties respective legitimate concerns into consideration in ordering partition, and should divide it so that the value is equal. Each brother will need an attorney to handle this.
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