If, in the proceedings in partition, judgment shall be entered directing partition, as provided in section 25-2179, the court shall, after partition or after the confirmation of the sale and the conveyance by the referee, determine a reasonable amount of attorney's fees to be awarded, which amount shall be taxed as costs in the proceedings. If the shares confirmed by such judgment and the existence of all encumbrances of which the plaintiff had actual or constructive notice were accurately pleaded in the original complaint of the plaintiff, such attorney's fees shall be awarded entirely to the attorney for the plaintiff; otherwise, the court shall order such fees for the attorneys to be divided among such of the attorneys of record in the proceedings as have filed pleadings upon which any of the findings in the judgment of partition are based. The court shall also determine and tax as costs a reasonable fee for the referee.
§ 25-21,108.Partition; proceedings; fees and costs; awarded, when; division.
Article 21: Special Proceedings and Actions · Last amended 2002 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section requires a Nebraska partition court to set a reasonable attorney’s fee once partition or sale closes, award it entirely to the plaintiff’s attorney if the complaint accurately pleaded the shares and encumbrances, or split it among attorneys who filed pleadings supporting the judgment, and to set a reasonable referee’s fee.
Full Text of § 25-21,108
Source
R.S.1867, Code § 841, p. 541; R.S.1913, § 8324; C.S.1922, § 9276; C.S.1929, § 20-21,108; R.S.1943, § 25-21,108; Laws 1955, c. 93, § 1, p. 271; Laws 2002, LB 876, § 44.
Plain-English Summary
Partition cases run up legal bills, and section 25-21,108 tells the court how to handle them once the case reaches the finish line, either after partition itself or after the referee’s sale and conveyance are confirmed. At that point the court sets a reasonable amount for attorney’s fees and taxes that amount as costs in the proceedings.
Who collects those fees depends on how carefully the original complaint was drafted. If the plaintiff accurately pleaded the shares confirmed in the judgment and disclosed every encumbrance the plaintiff knew about or should have known about, the fee goes entirely to the plaintiff’s attorney. Get those details wrong, or leave gaps the judgment later has to fill in, and the court instead divides the fee among the attorneys of record whose pleadings support the findings in the partition judgment.
The section also directs the court to fix and tax a reasonable fee for the referee, separate from the attorney’s fee question. Both figures become part of the costs assessed in the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the court set attorney’s fees in a Nebraska partition case?
After partition is completed, or after the referee’s sale is confirmed and the conveyance made, whichever applies to the case.
Who receives the attorney’s fee if the plaintiff’s complaint was accurate?
The plaintiff’s attorney receives the entire fee, if the complaint accurately pleaded the confirmed shares and disclosed all encumbrances the plaintiff had actual or constructive notice of.
What happens to the attorney’s fee if the complaint was not accurate on those points?
The court divides the fee among the attorneys of record who filed pleadings that the judgment’s findings are based on.
Does the referee also get paid a fee under this section?
Yes. The court determines and taxes as costs a reasonable fee for the referee, in addition to the attorney’s fee.
How are these fees paid?
Both the attorney’s fee and the referee’s fee are taxed as costs in the partition proceedings.
Does this section apply only when the property is sold, or also when it is physically divided?
Both. It applies after partition itself and after confirmation of a sale and conveyance by the referee.
Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the
Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: attorney fees partition case nebraskareferee fee partition nebraskawho pays attorney fees partitioncosts in partition proceedings nebraska