Can you force a sale of property if a co-owner has his half in trust?

Question

Can you force a sale of property if a co-owner has his half in trust?

Answer

Yes. A partition action.

Answer

There is nothing in the partition statutes (Code of Civil Procedure sections 872.010 through 874.225) that prevents an action being brought against a co-owner, regardless of whether the co-owner is an individual, corporation, trust, or whatever. The only restrictions are that a partition action cannot be used against a spouse, and if the property is owned by a partnership the use of partition (rather than procedures under partnership law) is up to the discretion of the trial judge. So, yes.

Answer

Sure. The trustee of the trust will be a party to the partition action, but it does not stop it.