(A) If all the interests of the cotenants that requested partition by sale are not purchased by other cotenants pursuant to § 15-61-370 or if, after conclusion of the buyout pursuant to § 15-61-370, a cotenant remains that has requested a partition in kind or a partition by allotment, the court shall order a partition in kind or a partition by allotment, unless the court, after consideration of the factors listed in § 15-61-390, finds that partition in kind or partition by allotment may result in manifest prejudice or manifest injury to the cotenants as a group. In considering whether to order partition in kind or partition by allotment, the court shall approve a request by two or more parties to have their individual interests aggregated.

(B) If the court does not order partition in kind or partition by allotment under subsection (A), the court shall order partition by sale pursuant to § 15-61-400 or, if no cotenant requested partition by sale, the court shall dismiss the action.

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 15-61-380

  • Manifest injury: means a result that is obviously unfair or shocking to the conscience and is direct, obvious, and observable when considering the factors under § 15-61-390(A). See South Carolina Code 15-61-320
  • Partition by allotment: means a court-ordered partition of the heirs' property where ownership to all or a portion of the heirs' property is granted to one or more cotenants proportionate in value to their interests in the entire heirs' property parcel, with adjustments being made for payment to compensate other cotenants for the value of their respective interests in the heirs' property. See South Carolina Code 15-61-320
  • Partition by sale: means a court-ordered sale of the entire heirs' property, whether by auction, sealed bids, or open-market sale, conducted under § 15-61-400. See South Carolina Code 15-61-320
  • Partition in kind: means the division of heirs' property into physically distinct and separately titled parcels. See South Carolina Code 15-61-320

(C) If the court orders partition in kind or partition by allotment pursuant to subsection (A), the court may require that one or more cotenants pay one or more of the other cotenants amounts so that the payments, taken together with the value of the in-kind distributions to the cotenants, will make the partition in kind or the partition by allotment just and proportionate in value to the fractional interests held.