The clerk must thereupon set the petition for hearing by the court and the petitioner must give notice thereof by causing notices of the time and place of hearing to be posted on at least three (3) public bulletin boards, one (1) of which must be at the place where the court is held, and one (1) in a conspicuous place on the property described, at least ten (10) days before the hearing.

The said notice shall be substantially in the following form: (Title of court and cause) Notice is hereby given that....... tion herein claiming to be the owner of the following described lands...... ........(description);

has filed a peti

And praying that the identity of the following-named persons, in former conveyances to said lands, be determined, to wit:...

..(names as J. Doe and John Doe);

And that the time and place of hearing of said petition has been set for........ .the day of........ 19......, at the hour m. of said day at the court room of said court in the

of..
City of Agana, Guam.

Clerk.

At any time before the date fixed for such hearing, any person interested in said property may answer said petition and deny any of the matters contained therein.

At the time fixed for the hearing, or such time thereafter as may be fixed by the court, the court must hear the proofs offered by the petitioner, and by any person answering the same, and must make and enter a decree determining the identity of the person, or persons, set out in the petition in accordance with the proofs.

An appeal may be taken by any party aggrieved as set forth in this Code.

After the said decree has become final, it shall have the force and effect of a judgment in rem. A certified copy of said decree shall be recorded in the Department of Land Management. [Enacted 1953.]

CHAPTER IV

Actions for Partition of Property

§ 752.

Who may bring actions for partition.

§ 752a.

§ 753.

§ 754.

Action for partition of personal property.

Interests of all parties must be set forth in the complaint.
Lien-holders not of record need not be made parties.

§ 755.

Plaintiff must file notice of lis pendens.

Question of sale or partition; appointment of a referee.
Death or insanity of party.

§ 763.

§ 763a.

§ 764.

§ 765.

§ 766.

§ 767. § 768.

§ 769.

Partition must be according to rights of parties. Sale of undivided interests. Allotment of shares to each party.

Report of referees.

Court may confirm, etc., the report; judgment binding on whom.
Judgment not to affect tenants for years to the whole property.
Expenses of partition must be apportioned among the parties.

A lien on an undivided interest of any party is a charge only on the
share assigned to such party.

Estate for life or years may be set off in a part of the property not sold, when not all sold.

Application of proceeds of sale of encumbered property.

Party holding other securities may be required first to exhaust them.
Proceeds of sale, disposition of.

Court must protect tenants unknown.

Securing value of contingent future rights or estates or life estates. Terms of sale must be made known at the time; lots must be sold separately.

§ 770.

§ 771.

§ 772.

§ 773.

§ 774.

When proceeds of sale are paid into court.

§ 778.

§ 779.

Tenant whose estate has been sold shall receive compensation.
Court may fix such compensation.

Referees must report sale to court. Court may vacate sale.

Referees to execute conveyances.

Proceeding if a lien-holder becomes a purchaser.

Conveyances must be recorded, and shall be a bar against parties.

Proceeds of sale belonging to parties unknown must be invested for their benefit.

Investment must be made in the name of the Director of Administration.

When the interests of the parties are ascertained, securities must be taken in their names.

Duties of the Director of Administration in making investments.

When unequal partition is ordered, compensation may be adjudged in certain cases.

The share of an infant may be paid to his guardian.

The guardian of an insane person may receive the proceeds of such party's interest.

Costs of partition.

Apportionment of expenses of litigation.

§ 752. Who may bring actions for partition. When several cotenants own real property as joint tenants, or tenants in common, in which one or more of them have an estate of in

heritance, or for life or lives or for years, or when real property is subject to a life estate with remainder over, an action may be brought by one or more of such persons, or, where property is subject to a life estate with remainder over, by the life tenant, for a partition thereof according to the respective rights of the persons interested therein, and for a sale of such property, or a part thereof, if it appears that a partition cannot be made. without great prejudice to the owners. [Enacted 1953.] [Partition of real property: see Tabor v. Ulloa (1963) 323 F.2d. 823.]

§ 752a. Action for partition of personal property. When several persons are co-owners of any personal property, an action may be brought by any one or more such co-owners for a partition thereof; or in case partition cannot be had without great prejudice to the owners, for the sale thereof, and partition of the proceeds according to the respective interests of the parties. In all such actions, the provisions of this Chapter shall govern wherever applicable. Real and personal property may be partitioned in the same action. [Enacted 1953.]

§ 753. Interest of all parties must be set forth in the complaint. The interests of all persons in the property, whether such persons are known or unknown, must be set forth in the complaint, as far as known to the plaintiff; and if one or more of the parties, or the share or quantity of interest of any of the parties, is unknown to the plaintiff, or is uncertain or contingent, or the ownership of the inheritance depends upon an executory devise, or the remainder is a contingent remainder, so that such parties cannot be named, that fact must be set forth in the complaint. [Enacted 1953.]

§ 754. Lien-holders not of record need not be made parties. No person having a conveyance of, or claiming a lien on, the property, or some part of it, need be made a party to the action, unless such conveyance or lien appears of record. [Enacted 1953.]

§ 755. Plaintiff must file notice of lis pendens. Immediately after filing the complaint in the court having jurisdiction, the plaintiff must record in the Department of Land Management a notice of the pendency of the action containing the names of the parties so far as known, the object of the action, and a description of the property to be affected thereby. From the time of filing such notice for record, all persons shall be

deemed to have notice of the pendency of the action. [Enacted 1953; amended by P.L. 5-54, effective July 1, 1960.]

§ 756. Summons; to whom directed. The summons must contain a description of the property sought to be partitioned, and must be directed to all of the persons named as defendants in the complaint, and when it shows that some person, whose name is unknown to the plaintiff, has or claims an interest in, or lien upon, the property, the summons must also be directed to all persons unknown who have or claim any interest in, lien upon, the property. [Enacted 1953.]

or

§ 757. Unknown parties may be served by publication. If a party having a share or interest is unknown, or any one (1) of the known parties resides outside of the Territory of Guam, or cannot be found therein, and such fact is made to appear by affidavit, the summons may be served on such absent or unknown party by publication, as in other cases. When publication is made, the summons, as published, must be accompanied by a brief description of the property which is the subject of the action. [Enacted 1953.]

§ 758. Answer of defendant; what to contain. If the defendant fails to answer within the time allowed by law, he is deemed to admit and adopt the allegations of the complaint. Otherwise, he must controvert such of the allegations of the complaint as he does not wish to be taken as admitted, and must set forth his estate or interest in the property, and if he claims a lien thereon, must state the date and character of the lien and the amount remaining due, and whether he has any additional security therefor, and if so, its nature and extent, and if he fails to disclose such additional security, he must be deemed to have waived his lien on the property to be partitioned. [Enacted 1953.]

§ 759. Rights of all parties may be put in issue. The rights of the several parties, plaintiff as well as defendant, may be put in issue, tried, and determined in such action; and when a sale of the premises is necessary, the title must be ascertained by proof to the satisfaction of the court before the sale can be ordered; except that where there are several unknown persons having an interest in the property, their rights. may be considered together in the action, and not as between themselves. [Enacted 1953.]

§ 760. Partial partition. Whenever from any cause it is, in the opinion of the court, impracticable or highly inconvenient to make a complete partition, in the first instance, among all the parties in interest, the court may first ascertain and determine the shares or interest respectively held by the original cotenants, and thereupon adjudge and cause a partition to be made, as if such original cotenants were the parties, and sole parties, in interest, and the only parties to the action, and thereafter may proceed in like manner to adjudge and make partition separately of each share or portion so ascertained and allotted as between those claiming under the original tenant to whom the same shall have been so set apart, or may allow them to remain tenants in common thereof, as they may desire. [Enacted 1953.]

§ 761. Rights of lien-holders. If it appears to the court that there are outstanding liens or encumbrances of record upon such real property, or any part thereof, which existed and were of record at the time of the commencement of the action, and the persons holding such liens are not made parties to the action, the court must order such persons to be made parties to the action by an amended or supplemental complaint. [Enacted 1953.]

§ 763. Question of sale or partition; appointment of a referee. If it appears by the evidence, whether alleged in the complaint or not, that the property or any part of it is so situated that partition cannot be made without great prejudice to the owners, or where property is subject to a life estate and the remainder is a contingent remainder, the court may, and in the latter case must, order the sale thereof; otherwise, upon the requisite proofs being made, it must order a partition according to the respective rights of the parties as ascertained by the court and may appoint a referee or referees therefor, and must designate the portion to remain undivided for the owners whose interests remain unknown, or are not ascertained. [Enacted 1953.]

§ 763a. Death or insanity of party. If, during the pendency of the action, any of the parties die, or become insane, or otherwise incompetent, the proceedings shall not for that cause be delayed or suspended, but the attorney who has appeared for such party may continue to represent such interest; and in case any such party has not appeared by an attorney, the court must appoint an attorney to represent the interest which