Relevant Legal Provisions

Civil Code Article 823, Paragraph 1 (first part)：Each co-owner, unless otherwise provided by law, may at any time request the partition of the co-owned property.

Civil Code Article 824, Paragraph 1：The partition of co-owned property shall be conducted in accordance with the method agreed upon by all co-owners.

Civil Code Article 824, Paragraph 2：If the method of partition cannot be decided by agreement, or if after the agreement the statute of limitations has expired and a co-owner refuses to perform, the court may, upon the request of any co-owner, order one of the following distributions:

1. Distribute the property in kind to each co-owner. However, if it is obviously difficult for each co-owner to receive a share of the property in kind, the property may be distributed to some of the co-owners.

2. When in-kind distribution is obviously difficult, the court may order the sale of the co-owned property and distribute the proceeds among the co-owners, or distribute part of the property in kind and sell the remaining part, with the proceeds distributed among the co-owners.

Facts and Reasons

Upon the passing of the decedent, our attorney was appointed by the court as the estate administrator. During the course of handling the estate, it was determined that partition was necessary. Therefore, our firm filed the present lawsuit to request the sale and division of the real estate, with the proceeds from the sale to be distributed among the heirs according to their respective inheritance shares.

Judgment

The court ruled that the co-owned properties listed in the attached schedule shall be sold and divided, with the proceeds to be distributed equally (½ each) between the two parties.

Since the co-owned property was registered as a residential condominium, dividing it in kind among all co-owners would concerns regarding independent access and entry for each owner, potentially compromising the structural integrity and fair value of the property.
The court held that an in-kind division could lead to inefficient use and a reduction in economic value, making partition by sale the more appropriate and equitable approach.
After considering the wishes, interests, property value, and usability of all parties, the court concluded that the plaintiff’s request for sale and division was proper and should be granted.
 

(Note: To protect the client's interests, certain case details and judgment images have been redacted and modified. For a full review of the case, please refer to  Judicial Yuan's judgment database)