Montana Attorney General Opinion 16-149

Opinion No. 149. Taxation-Tax Sales-Redemption of Undivided Interest in Real Estate. HELD: One owning an undivided interest in real estate sold for taxes may not redeem such interest by pay- ing only his proportionate share of the delinquent taxes. 148 OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL August 2, 1935. Mr. Thomas C. Colton Cuunty Attorney 'Yibaux, Montana In your letter of July 29, you asked us whether or not in our opinion a person who owns an undivided one- tenth interest in land which was as- sessed as a whole and so sold to Wi- baux County at a tax sale held in january, 1931, may be permitted to redeem such interest upon payment to the county treasurer of his propor- tionate share of the delinquent tax and other taxes since accruing against Il{lid land. The authority for the redemption of land sold for taxes is found in Sec- tion 2211, Revised Codes 1921, as amended by Chapter 48, Laws of 1923, which, so far as pertinent, is as fol- lows: "Whenever any person, firm, co-partnership, corporation, or asso- ciation shall desire to redeem from a tax sale and pay all subsequent taxes upon any lots, piece, or parcel of real Estate, which said person, firm, co- partnership, corporation, or associa- tion shall own or hold a mortgage or other lien against or have any interest in such property, it shall be '(he duty of the county treasurer of the county in which su<!h real estate is situated to permit such redemption and payment; and in case the said real estate shall have been assessed or soid, together with other real estate, or in ca.se the tax assessed against any other prop- erty shall be a lien thereon, then it shall be the duty of said county treas- urer to compute and apportion the tax that should have properly been assessed against the said real estate sought to be redeemed, and upon which the taxes are sought to be paid, the same as if said property had been separately assessed." It is evident that the law does not cover such a situation as is here presented. The right to redeem being wholly statutory, the person seeking to re- deem must bring himself within the statutory provisions which apply. (State ex reI. Federal Land Bank v. Hays, 86 Mont. 58; State v. Schaack, 10 N. W. 22.) A joint tenant or a tenant in com- mon holding an undivided interest in a tract of land sold in solidum for taxes may redeem, but if he does so, as a rule he must redeem the entire estate, not merely his undivided in- terest. (61 C. J. 1249.) A different principle would result occasionally, at least, in making the owner of the un- divided interest and the county ten- ants in common, a condition which the legislature neither contemplated nor intended when it passed Section 2211 as amended. It is our conclusion, therefore, that redemption cannot, under the circum- stances, be made in the manner out- lined above.