A partition action enables you to force the sale of property when coowners are refusing to sell. When two or more people own the same property, one of the owners CAN force a sale of the jointly owned property via a partition action or lawsuit.Most states will utilize both methods. Partition is the legal term referring to division of real property interests among co-owners (tenants in common). The Texas Family Code authorizes a "marital property agreement" between spouses. Real estate partition is an involved and expensive process. A joint owner or a claimant of real property or an interest in real property may bring an action to partition the property or interest in a district court. A petition to partition usually results in a physical split of the property or the property is sold and the proceeds split among the co tenants.