Art. 4621 Partition by licitation or private sale

If people own property together and want to split it up, but one of the owners can't be found or is absent, the property can still be sold. The law allows the sale to happen either through a public auction (called licitation) or through a private sale between specific buyers and sellers.

This applies no matter what kind of property is involved. Even if the property could technically be divided into separate physical pieces, the court can still order it sold instead of split up, as long as one owner is absent.

This rule protects the other co-owners from being stuck. Without it, a missing owner could hold up the whole process of dividing or selling shared property. Instead, the law provides a way to sell the property fairly, even when everyone who owns a share can't be reached or included in the decision.