Two routes
Voluntary partition. All the heirs agree who gets what and formalise it before a notary. Fast, inexpensive and without the court. It needs everyone to take part, including the one who does not reply.
Judicial partition. Where there is no agreement or someone cannot be found. It goes through the court, takes longer, but does not require everyone to consent.
Nobody is obliged to remain a co-owner. That is the part people do not know: one heir who refuses does not block the others forever.
When the property cannot be divided
A flat cannot be cut into three. So if physical division is impossible, another way out is found: one heir buys out the shares of the others, or the property goes to public sale and the price is divided.
Buying out is almost always the better outcome, because a public sale rarely produces a good price for anyone. That is why negotiation still makes sense even after proceedings have started.
What complicates a partition
An heir who has used the property alone for years. An heir who has spent money on repairs. A share sold to an outsider. An heir who has died in the meantime, whose own heirs step into their place. A missing or disputed will.
Each of these has a solution, and each one adds time.
If some of the heirs are abroad
That is the normal situation, not the exception. They do not need to travel. It is handled through a power of attorney, drafted so that it works here.
A useful order of operations: first establish who owns what on paper, then look for agreement, and only then go to court. The reverse order costs everyone more.
Related
Co-ownership and division and certificate of heirs.
What I will need
The certificate of heirs, the title documents for the properties, cadastral plans and tax valuations if you have them, and a list of the heirs with whatever you know about where each of them stands.
This page provides general information and does not constitute legal advice on any specific case. Rights and deadlines depend on the facts and the applicable law.