Articles Tagged with joint venture

2152023-300x300A Marvin agreement is an implied or express contract made between two nonmarried cohabitants/partners regarding property rights during a romantic relationship. Generally, unmarried partners living together can enter a variety of contracts, including but not limited to pooling their earnings to share property equally, holding property as joint tenants or tenants in common, or keeping their earnings and property separate. (Marvin v. Marvin (1976) 18 Cal.3d 660, 674; Hill v. Westbrook’s Estate (1950) 95 Cal.App.2d 599; Della Zoppa v. Della Zoppa (2001) 86 Cal.App.4th 1144.) If established, a Marvin agreement gives property rights to a romantic partner similar to that of a married individual. As such, a Marvin claim works similarly to a breach of contract claim but is ultimately based on equity. 

In order to prevail on a Marvin claim, a party must prove that an agreement existed between nonromantic partners to treat the property as theirs together. At Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are more than familiar with Marvin agreements and their relationship with property rights. 

Where do Marvin Agreements come from?

Underwood-Blog-Images-300x300
In California, cotenants are obligated to pay for their portion of common costs. A huge part of owning property jointly is “splitting the bill,” so to speak. From Property taxes to mortgage payments to utilities, the list goes on and on in terms of what all cotenants are responsible for. But that does not mean that each co-owner has to pay an equal share, or always does. And not every property-related expense is one which every cotenant must share in.

Perhaps due to all these various rules and unforeseen responsibilities, joint-ownership arrangements can often fall apart. All it takes is one delinquent mortgage payment to crater the credit scores of all parties involved. In these situations, a co-owner’s best option is a partition action where they can recover their share of overpayments. The Underwood Law Firm is familiar with these matters, and our team has the legal acumen and skills necessary to help you with the process.

What are common costs? 

Underwood-Blog-Images-4-300x300“Joint tenancy” is a phrase that most people associate with the co-ownership of a property. And indeed, this is correct. Joint tenancy is a form of co-ownership in California, second only to tenancies-in-common in terms of popularity. But just because the words “joint tenancy” are used in a deed or other property-related document does not mean one actually exists. 

For a joint tenancy to be “true” means its effects fully apply. At a minimum, ownership percentages between the owners need to be equal, and the right of survivorship has to be present between the parties. What’s more, is that if any of the statutory or legal requirements associated with its creation are missing, then the joint tenancy does not exist, and it cannot be “true.” 

At Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are well-versed in co-tenancy and the various forms it can take, including joint tenancy. The rights and duties that follow each of these ownership schemes are unique, making them a key issue in real estate litigation. 

Underwood-Blog-Images-300x300In California, business enterprises can take many forms (LLCs, corporations, partnerships, etc.). But perhaps the most unique is the “joint venture,” a special entity that, more often than not, is imposed by courts as a matter of law. This is because a joint venture is simply an “undertaking by two or more persons jointly to carry out a single business enterprise for profit.” (Unruh-Haxton v. Regents of University of California (2008) 162 Cal.App.4th 343, 370.) 

Joint ventures can be thought of as informal general partnerships, lacking the formalities of partnership agreements and usually lasting for a shorter duration. That said, they nonetheless carry the same fiduciary duties and responsibilities associated with partnerships in California. Moreover, the statutes within the Revised Uniform Partnership Act apply with equal force to both types of entities. (Chambers v. Kay (2002) 29 Cal.4th 142, 151.) 

At Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are well-versed in the law behind joint ventures and partnerships, particularly as these entities relate to real estate projects. With our skills, we stand ready to help all of our clients achieve their litigation goals. 

Underwood-Blog-Images-1-2-300x300Partitions by appraisal are a unique way to resolve a partition dispute. In essence, they are buyouts that the parties contractually agree to, allowing one party to remain on the jointly-owned property in exchange for purchasing the other co-owner’s interest at an appraised value.

This seemingly middle-of-the-road option, however, is one of the options available for inherited property under the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act. Specifically, the Act permits the non-partitioning party to purchase the other party’s interest at the appraised value, which can allow the property to remain in the family. This effectively grants the non-partitioning property an option to “partition by appraisal.” When a party agrees to buy the property at the appraised value but then cannot ultimately find the money for the purchase, what happens when a partition by appraisal fails?  

What is a Partition?

Underwood-Blog-Images-2-300x300American law has its roots in the laws of England. As such, many of the laws still on the books in the 21st Century depend on what English judges thought prior to our War for Independence began in 1776. Because our modern laws go back centuries since before the United States was a country, we should care about how our legal terms were originally understood as they may implicate a judge’s decision today. The most important of all the English Judges who influenced our modern laws was most likely Sir William Blackstone. 

Blackstone’s 1765 work, Commentaries on the Laws of England, is his most famous legal treatise, forming the backbone of common law analysis as modern lawyers understand it today. Without his efforts centuries ago, our conceptions of property, individual rights, and governmental authority would not be the same. His works remain cited even now in judicial decisions at all levels, including the Supreme Court of the United States. 

Blackstone’s comments on property law are particularly striking, for they bear the foundational ideas now found in our statutes governing real estate transactions, estate types, property rights, and ownership disputes. His analysis of tenancies in common and joint tenancy is so similar to our own California statutes that they warrant their own discussion. 

Underwood-Blog-Images-1-1-300x300Yes. When co-owners of property decide they want to go their separate ways but cannot come to an agreement on a buyout or reimbursements, they can institute a partition action and have the court system solve the problem for them. 

The presence of a life estate, however, substantially complicates this process. Additional evidentiary showings are required, and a partition might not even be available if the life estate owner fights the lawsuit. Thankfully, the Underwood Law Firm is more than familiar with partitions of all types and is here to assist property owners throughout the process. 

What is a life estate? 

Underwood-Blog-Images-300x300A “waste” claim is a means of recovering damages when a tenant on real property does substantial damage to the property itself. Most often, a waste claim arises when a person renting property causes damage while living there. But a waste claim isn’t restricted to landlords and tenants. It applies to nearly all situations where two or more people have some sort of interest in the common property.

On top of being their own cause of action that can be asserted in a lawsuit, waste claims can also potentially be raised in partition actions during the accounting stage. This allows property owners to approach the issue in the manner they see fit. Yet, understanding the contours of a waste claim is not as simple as it may seem. There are situations where damage to property is justified, meaning parties cannot always recover damages for the seemingly unjust actions of their co-owner(s).

In these situations, having an experienced real estate attorney at your side can make all the difference. The Underwood Law Firm encounters waste claims with regularity and is well-equipped with legal expertise to help guide those with property interests through this unique legal issue.

Underwood-Blog-Images-5-300x300General partnerships, and their “joint venture” cousins, are composed of partners seeking to make a profit in a business venture. But things don’t always work out. Often, a once promising endeavor breaks down due to mismanagement and miscommunication. In these situations, partners may feel the urge to get out with whatever equity they can. Usually, it isn’t that easy. 

The Revised Uniform Partnership Act allows partners to dissociate from their partnerships whenever they want. Yet this withdrawal can sometimes cause serious damage, especially when the partner trying to leave was a major source of capital. For that reason, the California Corporations Code provides for penalties when the dissociation is “wrongful.” In the end, getting out of a partnership isn’t so much about doing it the “right” way as it is about avoiding the “wrong” way to dissociate.

What is dissociation? 

Underwood-Blog-Images-1-2-300x300Just because a party prevails in a lawsuit does not mean the matter is over. Rarely discussed but crucially important is the fact that a judgment must be enforced once it is entered. This isn’t always easy. Losing parties don’t always want to cooperate, especially when they’re operating without an attorney. 

Sometimes, a party might “disappear,” ignoring all communications from the other side and the court. Other times, they might simply refuse to sign documents as ordered, convinced the court got it wrong. These actions can cost victorious parties thousands of extra dollars of their time and money. Thankfully, in these situations, litigants have a unique remedy to combat this behavior: an elisor. 

An elisor is a person appointed by the court to perform functions like the execution of a deed or document. (Blueberry Properties, LLC v. Chow (2014) 230 Cal.App.4th 1017, 1020.) They are most commonly utilized in cases where a party never shows up or where a party refuses, even under court order, to sign documents as required by the court. 

Contact Information