Articles Tagged with legal action

6142023-300x300Yes. California law allows a co-owner to take out a mortgage without the other co-owners consent or knowledge. 

Co-owning property with other parties can be quite a responsibility that can be difficult to manage. One particularly stressful aspect of managing property is managing the debt that comes with financing the property. Some parties may even want to take out more debt without letting their fellow co-owners know. If such a debt or encumbrance on the property is taken, it is still enforceable and allowable and can result in the sale of the entire property. 

California Law on Co-Owner Mortgages Without Consent

672023-300x300Partitions sales and divorce sales are two different ways that a property can be sold.  One difference between the two is that in a partition sale, the court usually decides the proportion of ownership and how the proceeds are distributed among the owners, while in a divorce sale, the court generally must divide the property equally. Another difference is that the divorce sale process is similar to a normal real estate sale. Both sales can be determined informally among the parties or ordered by a court.   

The Partitions Sale Process

Usually, partition sales are ordered by a court. This is because partition lawsuits are often brought before courts by a property owner who wants to force a sale if the parties cannot come to an agreement. Read more about partition actions generally here

5262023-300x300There are several provisions in real property sale agreements that can affect a party’s legal rights. One such provision is an “as-is” provision, which is often included in contracts for the sale of real property. It is important for parties to keep on the lookout for such provisions so that they are aware of their legal rights in any possible litigation. 

What Does an “As-is” Provision Mean for Buyers? 

Generally, when a property is sold “as-is,” the seller is not liable for defects in the property unless the seller is fraudulently concealing or misrepresenting the property’s condition. (Shapiro v. Hu, 188 Cal.App.3d 324, 334.) When purchasing the property “as-is”, the buyer accepts the condition of the property to the extent that he or she can visibly observe. The buyer cannot later sue the seller for a defect that the buyer observed. 

5192023-300x300In every property co-owned by two or more persons, there are common costs. Common costs are those costs for the property that are common to all owners or for the common benefit of all owners. In California, cotenants are required to pay for their portion of the common costs. Therefore, cotenants must pay for their share of expenses to operate and maintain the property. The portion of common costs one must pay depends on the ownership interest of that cotenant. 

At the Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are more than familiar with co-ownership and the requirements that follow. 

What are Common Expenses?

5122023-300x300“A trust is any arrangement which exists whereby property is transferred with an intention that it be held and administered by the transferee for the benefit of another.” (Higgins v. Higgins (2017) 11 Cal.App.5th 648, 662.) Essentially, a trust is a legal relationship that allows a person to hold property for the benefit of another person. 

In a trust relationship, there are typically three main people involved: (1) the settlor; (2) the trustee; and (3) the beneficiary. The settlor is the person that creates the trust and transfers the property he/she owns in the trust to be held by the trustee. The trustee is the person that administers the trust. The trustee holds legal title to the property transferred into the trust by the settlor and acts as a fiduciary to the beneficiary to protect the assets in the trust. The beneficiary holds equitable title to the trust property and is the person that benefits from the property in the trust. In some cases, the settlor and the trustee are the same person. 

In sum, a trust is a fiduciary relationship where property is transferred by one person to another on behalf of a third party. At the Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are more than familiar with trusts and the requirements that follow. 

5102023-300x300Generally, a co-owner of real property may commence an action in a partition. Owners of an estate of inheritance, a life estate, or an estate for years who hold such interest concurrently or in successive estates may seek to partition the property. (CCP § 872.201(a)(2).) Those with concurrent interest in the property may partition the property as of right unless barred by a valid waiver. (CCP § 872.710(b).) As such, a co-owner of the property has an absolute right to partition, absent a valid waiver. (Orien v. Lutz (2017) 16 Cal.App.5th 957.) 

What are the Different Types of Co-Owner Relationships? 

Partition actions most often result from joint ownership problems falling into four broad categories: (1) Father/Mother-Son/Daughter tenants in common in real estate; (2) Brother-Sister shared tenants in common in real estate; (3) Investor-Investor shared tenants in common in real estate, and (4) Non-Married Partners shared tenants in common in real estate. 

552023-300x300When a person passes away and leaves behind the property, their property must first pass through the probate process before being passed down to family members and loved ones. Essentially, the probate process is a legal process that determines the execution of the estate of someone who has passed away. Moreover, during the probate process, the court appoints an executor or an administrator to administer the deceased’s estate. Therefore, probate property refers to any assets or property left behind by a deceased person that passes through the probate process.    

It is possible to sell or buy probate property while it is still in the probate process. However, the sale of probate property is different from a standard sale of real property, and there are court and statutory procedures that need to be taken into consideration.  At the Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are more than familiar with the sale of probate property and the requirements that follow. 

The Probate Process

532023-300x300For family members of a deceased loved one, the most important part of probate proceedings is the final distribution of the estate. This occurs once the estate’s debts and obligations have been satisfied, and it serves to more or less end the probate of the estate. 

But what if someone thinks they’re entitled to a share of the estate but was left out of the proceedings from the outset? This is where the petition to determine distribution rights comes into play. It’s a legal mechanism whereby omitted heirs or interested parties ask to court to be included in the final distribution. 

What is a Distribution in Probate? 

4192023-1-300x300Following the explosive split between the two stars in the hit reality show, “Vanderpump Rules,” many are left wondering what will become of the couple’s $2.2 million dollar home. Prior to their split, Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval bought a farmhouse-style home in 2019 and took their time to renovate the Property into their dream home. 

Unfortunately, due to Sandoval’s alleged affair in March 2023, the couple split but are still living under the same roof, with Sandoval apparently refusing to leave and stating that Madix was free to leave if she had a problem with him staying. 

What happens when one party wants to leave, and the other party wants to stay on their shared property? In these situations, an owner of commonly owned property like Madix may feel like they are being held hostage by a former partner and co-owner. Under these circumstances, a partition action may be the best option for a fresh start.   

4142023-300x300A property’s legal description is an essential element of any property transfer, and it serves as the basis for most property-based lawsuits. Quiet title summons, partition complaints, and lis pendens notices must all contain legal descriptions, just to name a few. 

Funnily enough, however, despite the legal description importance, there is no standard form in use. It can be a property’s address (if it has one), a metes and bounds description, or (commonly), it can reference a county’s official map. 

But what is not sufficient, at least by itself, is a property’s assessor parcel number (APN). This is because an APN is a number assigned to a parcel map to designate property or groups of properties as being subject to certain taxes. The county assessor isn’t concerned with assigning numbers to correctly measure the physical size of the lot. Instead, an assessor may combine properties or cut them in half for taxation purposes. 

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