Pursuant to the UPHPA, under any action to partition real property, a court is now required to determine whether the property is “heirs property,” as defined by the UPHPA. If the court determines that the property is heirs property, then a court shall partition the property in accordance with the UPHPA.

The law concerning partitioning a property in New York changed as of December 2019 when New York enacted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (“UPHPA”). The UPHPA seeks to protect owners who have recently inherited real property from an estate. It does so by mandating a settlement conference before any heirs property can be partitioned, and requires that the parties to that conference act in good faith.

One of the most important aspects of the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (the “The UPHPA”) is the determination of the value of the property at issue. Often, issues arise between the parties to the action because they do not know the value of the property. To remedy this issue and provide a fair and equitable solution to the parties, the UPHPA provides flexibility in determining a value.