2 brothers were left a piece of real estate by their father. Reuven wants to divide the land and sell while Shimon doesn’t. The reason Shimon wants to keep the property is that it generates income at a higher interest rate than can be received otherwise and selling it will result in a tax that can otherwise be pushed off for many years. Does Reuven have the right to force Shimon to sell even though it will result in a loss and a tax? Does Reuven need to compensate Shimon for the loss?
Answer:
Reuven cannot force Shimon to sell the land (see sources below).
Best wishes.
Sources:
If jointly owned property can be divided into parts, with each partner receiving a usable portion, the halachic ruling is that one partner can force the other to split the property.
If the property cannot be split in a manner that provides each partner with a usable portion – which I understand is the case for the relevant land in the question (see Chasam Sofer, Choshen Mishpat 12, quoted in Pis’chei Teshuvah 171:3, concerning a case in which the division will cause a significant loss) – neither partner can force a division of that property (Choshen Mishpat 171:1).
When one of the partners requests the sale, the other partner will have
