Title dispute between exes requires partition lawsuit

I moved into my boyfriend’s Glendale home after he was badly injured in a motorcycle accident. I have paid all mortgage payments, repairs, and utilities for the last four years. During this period, he promised to add me to the title as a joint owner of the home. You guessed it: He now has a new girlfriend, and I will be moving out next week. He is basically a good guy, and he says that he will pay me back every penny that I put into the home. What about his promise to put me on the title? The house has probably doubled in value in the past four years. Do I have some title rights to the home?

Answer: Probably. As a “claimant” to an ownership interest in the home, you should be entitled to file a partition lawsuit in Superior Court for the sale of the house. See ARS § 12-1211. The judge will order the home sold by a special commissioner, usually a real estate broker appointed by the judge. After the home is sold, the special commissioner will deposit the cash sale proceeds, minus commissions, repairs, and other sale expenses, with the Superior Court. If you and your ex-boyfriend cannot agree on the distribution amounts to each of you, a trial will be scheduled to determine the amount of the cash sale proceeds to be distributed to each of you.

Note: We have done dozens of partition lawsuits, and there has never been a trial. After the cash sale proceeds are deposited with the Superior Court, just waiting to be distributed to the former owners, there has always been a settlement, usually very quickly.