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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA
No. 77 /05-0101 Filed August 18, 2006 BOBBY D. MARTIN, SR., Appellee, vs. BOBBY D. MARTIN II, Appellant. ________________________________________________________________________ On review from the Iowa Court of Appeals.

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Appanoose County, Annette J. Scieszinski, Judge.

Appeal from district court judgment ordering a parcel of land to be partitioned by sale. DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS AFFIRMED; DISTRICT COURT JUDGMENT REVERSED.

Cathleen J. Siebrecht of Siebrecht & Siebrecht Law Firm, Des Moines, for appellant.

Greg A. Life of Life Law Office, Oskaloosa, for appellee.

2 CADY, Justice. This is a partition action in which the plaintiff claims an interest in land as a tenant in common by virtue of a deed from the grantor not joined in by his spouse. The district court concluded the deed was valid and ordered the land to be partitioned by sale. The court of appeals

reversed. On our review, we agree with the court of appeals. We reverse the decision of the district court. I. Background Facts and Proceedings

Robert Martin Jr. ("Bobby") purchased a forty-acre tract of land in Appanoose County on contract for $12,000 on November 1, 1993. The real estate contract named Bobby as the buyer, and the sellers gave Bobby a warranty deed in 1999 after Bobby completed the payments required under the contract. Bobby lived in a mobile home located on the land. Bobby's father, Robert Martin Sr. ("Bob"), provided funds to Bobby to assist in the purchase of the land. After the purchase in 1993, Bob moved his personal property, equipment, and numerous items described as "junk" onto the land, with Bobby's assistance. In addition, Bob made several improvements to the land. He built a pond and a driveway,

cleared trees, graded the land, and installed water pipes. Bob claimed that Bobby acknowledged on numerous occasions that they both owned the land. Bobby married on June 13, 1999. His wife, Sheryl, lived in the home located on the land until Bobby filed for divorce in November 1999. At that time, Bobby and Sheryl separated, and Sheryl moved out of the home. Bobby and Sheryl had two children together.

3 During the pendency of the divorce proceedings, Bob and Bobby entered into an agreement, entitled "Agreement Regarding Real Property." Under the agreement, Bob and Bobby acknowledged they both owned the forty-acre tract of land. They signed the agreement on February 21,

2000. That same day, Bobby executed a quitclaim deed that conveyed the land from himself (as the sole owner) to himself and Bob as tenants in common. Although Bobby and Sheryl were still married at the time, Sheryl did not sign the deed. Bobby apparently placed the deed in a

safe, because he "thought it wasn't good" at the time, and neither Bob nor Bobby recorded the deed. Bobby and Sheryl were divorced a year later on February 21, 2001. The court awarded the homestead property to Bobby. On July 18, 2003, after a dispute arose with Bobby, Bob recorded the quitclaim deed. There was no explanation as to how or when Bob acquired possession of the deed. Bob then filed a petition for partition on August 18, 2003. Bob claimed that he and Bobby owned the land as tenants in common by virtue of the quitclaim deed. He asked the court to have it partitioned by sale. Bobby responded to the petition by claiming Bob had no ownership interest in the land because the quitclaim deed by which Bob claimed to have acquired his interest was not executed by Sheryl as required by Iowa Code section 561.13 and was invalid. See Iowa Code

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