The circuit court shall have original jurisdiction to divide or partition, or sell for partition, any property, real or personal, held by joint owners or tenants in common; whether the defendant denies the title of plaintiff or sets up adverse possession or not; and the court in exercising its jurisdiction shall proceed according to the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure and, where necessary, allow service of process by publication as prescribed therein.
Ala. Code § 35-6-20 (1975)