Where the court has determined the combined interests of two or more unknown parties, the entire portion of the property allocated to such parties shall remain undivided.
§ 873.270.Interests of Two Or More Unknown Parties Undivided
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 873.270 keeps the portion of property allocated to two or more unknown parties as a single undivided share, rather than requiring the referee to further split it among owners whose individual interests can't be identified.
Full Text of § 873.270
Plain-English Summary
Partition actions sometimes involve unknown parties whose combined interest the court has determined, even though their individual identities and shares aren't known. This section addresses what happens to their portion: where the court has determined the combined interests of two or more unknown parties, the entire portion of the property allocated to them remains undivided.
That approach is a practical necessity — a referee can't meaningfully divide a share among people who haven't been identified. Keeping their combined portion intact preserves their collective claim rather than forcing an arbitrary split.
The same practical concern shows up on the sale side of this title. Section 873.850 similarly leaves room for an action to continue when proceeds belonging to parties, known or unknown, haven't yet been allocated among them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to the share of property belonging to unknown co-owners?
It's allotted as a single, combined, undivided portion rather than being split further among them.
Why doesn't the referee divide it among the unknown owners individually?
Because their individual interests and identities haven't been determined, so their combined share is treated as a single undivided unit.
Does this permanently prevent those interests from being resolved?
No. It defers further division of that portion until the individual unknown owners are identified.
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: unknown parties partition division california