(a) Any party, upon notice to the other parties who have appeared, may move the court to confirm, modify, or set aside the report.
§ 873.290.Motion to Confirm, Modify Or Set Aside Report
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 873.290 lets any party move to confirm, modify, or set aside the referee's division report, empowers the court to enter judgment of partition on the report as filed or as modified, or to reject it and order a new report and referee, and provides that title to the divided shares vests only once the judgment of partition is entered.
Full Text of § 873.290
(b) At the hearing, the court may either confirm the report as filed or as the court may modify and enter judgment of partition accordingly or set aside the report and order preparation of a new report and, if necessary, appoint a new referee for this purpose.
(c) The division is effective and title vests in accordance therewith upon entry of judgment of partition.
Plain-English Summary
The referee's division report doesn't take effect on its own — it needs judicial approval. Subdivision (a) lets any party, upon notice to the other parties who have appeared, move the court to confirm, modify, or set aside the report.
At that hearing, the court has three options under subdivision (b). It can confirm the report as filed and enter judgment of partition accordingly, confirm it with modifications the court makes and enter judgment on that modified basis, or set aside the report entirely and order preparation of a new one — appointing a new referee for that purpose if necessary.
Subdivision (c) fixes the moment that matters most for the parties: the division becomes effective, and title vests according to it, only upon entry of the judgment of partition. Filing the report, or even a favorable ruling at the hearing, isn't the moment title changes — that happens only when judgment is entered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can move to confirm, modify, or set aside the referee's report?
Any party, upon notice to the other parties who have appeared.
What can the court do at that hearing?
Confirm the report as filed, confirm it with modifications, or set it aside and order a new report, appointing a new referee if necessary.
When does title to the divided property vest in the parties?
Upon entry of the judgment of partition, not before.
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: confirm partition division report californiajudgment of partition california