My Ex and I Own Property Together and Need to Separate It
How Do Unmarried Couples Separate Property in Michigan?
You bought the house together when you were a couple. Your name and theirs are both on the deed, or maybe just one of you is on the deed and the other has been paying half the mortgage for years. You broke up. Now you need to untangle a house, a mortgage, sometimes a renovation loan, sometimes years of contributions that never quite matched up.
You're not married. So you can't file for divorce. And when you look up "separating property after a breakup," everything you find is about divorce. The lawyers you call to scope it out tell you family law doesn't apply to you.
A Michigan partition action is a court proceeding under MCL 600.3304 et seq. that resolves co-ownership disputes over real property, either by physically dividing the property (partition in kind) or by ordering its sale and dividing the proceeds (partition by sale). It's the primary legal mechanism for unmarried couples who own real estate together and need to separate it.
Family law (divorce, equitable distribution) only applies to married couples. For everyone else who co-owns real property — unmarried partners, friends, siblings (who inherited), business associates — partition action is how the property and the financial relationship get untangled.
Why Family Law Doesn't Help Unmarried Couples Separate Property in Michigan
Family law is built around marriage. Divorce courts have decades of doctrine on equitable distribution, alimony, marital property, separate property, and the mechanics of dividing assets accumulated during a marriage. None of that applies to unmarried couples. Michigan does not recognize common-law marriage. There is no "palimony." There is no equitable distribution framework for partners who never married, based solely on your relationship.
That gap leaves a lot of real life unaddressed. Modern unmarried couples co-own homes, take out mortgages together, renovate together, contribute unequally to bills, give each other gifts during the relationship, and live as economic units for years, sometimes decades. When the relationship ends, family law has no place for any of this.
Michigan partition action is available to any co-owner regardless of marital status, and it's the only legal mechanism that resolves real-estate disputes between unmarried partners after a breakup. Partition is a separate body of law, governed by Michigan's partition statutes (MCL 600.3304 et seq.) and court rules (MCR 3.401–3.403), that handles co-ownership disputes regardless of the parties' relationship. It applies to married-couple property that wasn't held as tenancy by the entirety, unmarried partners, siblings, friends, business associates — anyone who co-owns real estate as joint tenants or tenants in common.
The court treats the relationship as commercial. Equitable accounting applies: who paid what for the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and improvements; who had exclusive possession after the breakup; whether one party should be reimbursed for the value they added. Under Silich v. Rongers, 302 Mich App 137 (2013), credits and charges are limited to what the parties themselves contributed, not their predecessors. The court can also order partition by sale and divide the net proceeds after credits, or order in-kind division if that's feasible.
What Are The Most Common Mistakes Michigan Unmarried Couples Make When Separating Property After a Breakup?
Four patterns recur: calling a divorce lawyer (they can't help), negotiating an informal buyout without a deed analysis, letting the property sit, and assuming the one who stayed gets the house. Each has a specific fix through a Michigan partition action.
Many people call a divorce lawyer first. Divorce lawyers will tell you they can't help. Most will not refer you to the right kind of attorney either, because partition action is a niche civil real estate practice, not family law.
Others try to negotiate the buyout informally without a deed analysis. The deed controls. Whether you held the property as joint tenants, joint tenants with right of survivorship, or tenants in common matters for what happens next. So does whether informal contributions during the relationship were "gifts" (the default presumption between unmarried partners) or whether they were tracked as separate-property contributions. Negotiating a buyout without understanding the legal structure leaves money on the table, or makes promises that aren't enforceable.
Some let the property sit while the damage to the relationship settles. It's understandable. It's also expensive. Property taxes accrue. Mortgage interest accrues. One ex may move out while the other stays, raising the question of whether the staying party owes the leaving party fair rental value (Michigan courts can award this on a showing of ouster). Letting it sit doesn't preserve the status quo. It deepens the financial entanglement.
Many assume the one who stayed gets the house. The opposite is closer to the truth. Any co-owner with the will to force resolution can do so under Michigan partition law. Co-owners cannot be forced to remain co-owners indefinitely. The one who wants out can file partition and force a sale (or a buyout). The one who wants to stay may need to be the buyer in a buyout, not the default keeper.
How JBM Law Structures an Unmarried-Couple Separation
At JBM Law, the first conversation is about what you actually own, what you actually contributed, and what you actually want, not about whether you "should have" gotten married, or about what divorce law would have done. We handle the legal mechanics from there:
Deed and title analysis: confirm how the property is held (joint tenants, joint tenants with rights of survivorship, tenants in common) and what each party's fractional interest is
Contribution accounting: document mortgage principal payments, interest, taxes, insurance, necessary repairs, and capital improvements; quantify what each party should be reimbursed for under Michigan's equitable accounting framework
Possession analysis: assess whether one party has exclusive possession post-breakup and whether fair rental value is owed
Buyout structuring: when one party wants to keep the house, build the appraisal-based buyout structure, refinance plan, and release of the other party from the mortgage
Partition action filing: when negotiation fails or the other party won't engage, file in the circuit court for the county where the property sits (Macomb or Oakland for most JBM clients), citing MCL 600.3304 et seq. and MCR 3.401–3.403
Most unmarried-couple separations settle. Some require litigation. We handle both, and we tell you which path your situation needs before you commit.
Has another attorney told you your situation can't be partitioned?
It may be. Many Michigan deeds were drafted decades ago with survivorship language that's inappropriate for the actual relationship — and many attorneys read the language and decline. We take these cases.
Separating the Property You Bought Together Is Possible
You stop being financially tied to someone who used to be your partner. The mortgage gets refinanced or paid off, the title clears, the proceeds get divided, and you have certainty about what you walked away with, and what you contributed, before you decide what comes next.
You're not paying property taxes on a house you don't live in. You're not exposed to the mortgage if your ex stops paying. You're not blocked from buying your next home because the lender still counts the joint mortgage against you.
If you have other unresolved questions (guardianship for children from the relationship, joint financial accounts, business interests, vehicles), those go through different processes, and we'll point you to the right help for each one.
Most Macomb and Oakland County unmarried-couple partition matters resolve in the $5,000–$15,000 range for uncontested negotiated buyouts; contested litigation runs higher.
Get a Clear Answer on What Your Share Is
Schedule a consultation. We will review your deed, the financial history of the property, your contributions, and what you want from the resolution, then give you a clear path forward.
Learn more about Michigan Partition Actions →