Where prior to the commencement of the action a party has executed a deed purporting to convey to a purchaser a portion of the property to be divided, to the extent it can be done without material injury to the rights of the other parties, the property shall be so divided as to allot that portion to the purchaser, the purchaser's heirs or assigns, or such other action taken as to make the deed effectual as a conveyance of that portion of the property.
§ 873.230.Allotment of Portion of Property to Purchaser Prior to Commencement of Action
Title 10.5. Partition of Real and Personal Property · Chapter 5. Division of the Property · Enacted 1976 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 873.230 lets the referee, without materially harming the other parties' rights, allot to a purchaser, or the purchaser's heirs or assigns, the specific portion a co-owner had already deeded away before the partition action began, or take other steps to make that earlier deed effective.
Full Text of § 873.230
Plain-English Summary
A co-owner sometimes sells off part of an undivided interest before any partition suit is filed. This section keeps that earlier transaction from being disrupted by the litigation: where a party has, before the action began, executed a deed purporting to convey a portion of the property to a purchaser, the referee divides the property, to the extent practical without material injury to the other parties, so as to allot that portion to the purchaser, the purchaser's heirs, or assigns.
Like § 873.220's improvement rule, this protection is bounded by the same material-injury standard. The purchaser isn't guaranteed the exact parcel described in the earlier deed if giving it to them would harm the rights of the other co-owners.
The statute also gives the referee flexibility beyond a plain allotment: it allows other action to be taken to make the deed effectual as a conveyance, when a clean allotment of the described portion isn't achievable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a co-owner sold part of the property before the partition suit started?
The referee tries to allot that specific portion to the purchaser, the purchaser's heirs, or assigns, so long as doing so doesn't materially injure the other parties' rights.
Is the purchaser guaranteed to receive that exact parcel?
Not absolutely — only to the extent it's practical without material injury to the other parties.
What if allotting the exact parcel isn't practical?
The referee may take other action to make the earlier deed effectual as a conveyance of that portion.
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: prior deed partition division california