Art. 4606 Partition in kind

When co-owners of property can't agree on how to split it up and the case goes to court, the judge's first choice is to divide the actual property itself between the owners. This is called "partition in kind," and it means each person gets an actual physical share of the property rather than a cash payment.

The judge will only avoid dividing the property this way if the law says otherwise, or if the property simply can't be split up. For example, a single house or a small piece of land might not be practical to divide into separate pieces that each owner could use. In those cases, the court would need to consider other options, like selling the property and dividing the money.

So if you're in a dispute with a co-owner over shared property, know that courts generally prefer to give everyone an actual piece of the property instead of forcing a sale. A sale or other solution only comes into play when dividing the physical property isn't realistic or doesn't make sense.