Wellington, Florida

Daniel T. Pascale is a South Florida attorney, practicing in the areas of commercial litigation and real estate. He is a partner with the boutique law firm of ESQ.title. The firm, with offices throughout South Florida, including in Miami Dade (Coral Gables) and Palm Beach (Delray Beach) County, takes the approach that learning and understanding their clients’ needs and their business breeds success. As such, its attorneys focus their attention on solving their clients’ legal issues based on their clients’ individual needs.

The firm represents their clients’ interests in both transactional law and litigation. Whether a client’s needs are real estate or business-related, ESQ.title strives to provide cost-efficient service in a professional manner. Dan Pascale tries to amicably address his clients’ legal issues before turning to the legal system for a solution. However, in the event that suit must be filed, Dan is also experienced in representing clients before Palm Beach County judges.

In the world of real estate, even reasonable property owners can disagree as to the use of their jointly-held property. Owners may disagree as to who is responsible for what bills, the amounts and even how much the property is worth. When there is a family relationship between the parties, there can be different emotions and obligations that affect the owners’ ability to work through the issues. Sometimes, these disagreements create conflicts that can only be resolved by filing a lawsuit.

In order to ask a judge to resolve these types of conflicts, an owner files what is called a partition lawsuit. Partition lawsuits are governed by the Florida Statutes; however, case law has also developed that interprets the law and that directs both owners, lawyers and judges as to how to resolve the matter. The goal of a partition case is a judgment in which the Court orders the sale of the property and divides the proceeds of a sale of the property. In order for the Court to make those determinations, the parties go through the discovery process, during which time the attorneys exchange documents and interview both fact witnesses and expert witnesses. Bank statements, property appraisals and receipts are some of the documents that are important in this type of case. Both sides try to show that the price they assigned to the property is correct, if price is in dispute. If contributions are in dispute, such that the owners are not in agreement as to the split of proceeds of the sale, then the parties will try to get evidence to show what percentage of the proceeds should go to each owner. For example, if only one of the owners was paying bills, then that owner would be entitled to a greater share of the proceeds of the sale of the property.

Wellington is most famous for its reputation as a world-wide polo site and equestrian locale. Some residents, however, eschew the horse farms and polo fields for gated communities and family activities. Wellington is not far from Palm Beach and other central Palm Beach county beaches. Its schools are excellent and shopping and restaurant destinations include the popular Wellington Green. Pratt & Whitney and Scripps are two of the multinational businesses nearby, which contribute to the character of the village as a bedroom community.

If you have any questions about partition or the division of real estate in Delray Beach, Coral Gables, or the greater South Florida area, please feel free to contact Daniel T. Pascale directly at 305.310.1170 for a courtesy telephone consultation.