Final answer:
A co-tenant who wants property that is co-owned to be sold would bring a partition action. This is a legal proceeding in which a co-tenant seeks a court order to divide or sell the co-owned property. The court would determine how to divide the proceeds from the sale between the co-tenants.
Step-by-step explanation:
A co-tenant who wants property that is co-owned to be sold would bring a partition action. A partition action is a legal proceeding in which a co-tenant seeks a court order to divide or sell the co-owned property. This is typically done when the co-tenants cannot agree on the use or management of the property and wish to dissolve their co-ownership.
For example, let's say two siblings inherit a house from their parents. If one sibling wants to sell the house but the other sibling wants to keep it, the sibling who wants to sell can file a partition action to force a sale of the property. The court would then determine how to divide the proceeds from the sale between the co-tenants.
In some cases, if the property cannot be physically divided, such as in the case of a single family home, the court may order the property to be sold and the proceeds divided among the co-tenants.