What is an Owelty Lien

The etymology of owelty comes from oelté in Anglo-French which means equity. Under common law, an amount that one co-owner must pay to another after a lawsuit to partition real estate so that each co-owner receives equal value from the property. In Texa, owelties of partition are commonly used in: Divorces when there is an inability to financially compensate one spouse for part of the homestead or other real property, other than by lien. The party retaining the property is ordered to pay a cash sum to the other party to compensate it for the other party's lost interest in the property. Will probates to compensate beneficiaries for an unequal division of the estate when: property in the estate cannot be divided equally; and a beneficiary under the will receives a share greater than the other beneficiaries. When an owelty of partition is determined by court order or granted by agreement, and the paying party is unable to make an immediate payment of the entire sum, the amount owed may be assessed as a lien against the property that is effective on the date of the judgment or agreement. The owelty lien is evidenced by a written instrument signed by the debtor that attaches when the instrument is recorded in the county’s real property records.