The court shall order that the property be divided among the parties in accordance with their interests in the property as determined in the interlocutory judgment.
§ 872.810.Property Divided In Accordance With Parties' Interests
Title 10.5. Partition of Real and Personal Property · Chapter 3. Trial · Article 3. Determination of Manner of Partition · Enacted 1976 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 872.810 requires the court to order the property physically divided among the parties in accordance with the interests already determined in the interlocutory judgment, unless one of the exceptions favoring sale applies.
Full Text of § 872.810
Plain-English Summary
Division in kind is this title's default manner of partition. Once the interlocutory judgment under § 872.720 has fixed each party's interest, this section directs the court to order the property divided among the parties according to those interests -- splitting the physical property itself rather than converting it to cash.
That default only holds so long as none of the exceptions in § 872.820 kick in. The opening phrase of § 872.820 -- "Notwithstanding Section 872.810" -- makes the relationship explicit: sale displaces division whenever the parties agree to a sale or the court finds sale more equitable under the circumstances. Absent one of those triggers, physical division under this section is what the parties get.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the court default to physically dividing the property, or to ordering a sale?
Physical division. Section 872.810 requires the court to order the property divided among the parties according to their interests, unless § 872.820's exceptions apply.
What interests does the division follow?
The interests already determined in the interlocutory judgment entered under § 872.720.
When does the court order a sale instead of physical division?
When the parties agree to a sale, or the court determines sale would be more equitable under the circumstances, as § 872.820 provides.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1976, Ch. 73.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: partition in kind californiaphysical division of property partition action