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Carlsbad Partition Lawyers

The City of Carlsbad was originally settled by ranchers in the 1860s. Once the Santa Fe Railway arrived in 1885, the city started to grow with homes, businesses, and agriculture. Today over 60% of homes are owner occupied. As a town with a rich history, residents of Carlsbad often own homes with others due to inheritance, which can lead to disputes with co-owners. Generally, the best Carlsbad Partition Lawyers usually find partition action to be the best remedy for disputing co-owners in four broad categories:

  • Split real estate dispute;
  • Brother-Sister real estate dispute;
  • Investor-Investor real estate dispute; and
  • Significant other real estate dispute

In situations like this, it is important to be familiar with lis pendens in partition actions. Once a plaintiff has filed his or her complaint for partition, the plaintiff must immediately record a notice of the pendency of the action, a lis pendens, in the county recorder's office of each county where the real property described in the complaint is located. (CCP § 872.250(a).) The person required to record the lis pendens may either be the plaintiff or the cross-complainant. (Cal. L. Revision Comm. Comment to CCP § 872.250.)

If a party seeks to partition other real property in the same action, that party must record a supplemental notice immediately. (CCP § 872.250(b).) If the party fails to record, upon the court's motion or the motion of any of the parties at any time, the court must order that the party to record the notice and stay the proceeding until the notice has been recorded. The person who must record bears the expense of recordation. (CCP § 872.250(c).)

Failure to record a lis pendens immediately following the filing of the complaint, absent a showing of prejudice, will not invalidate a partition decree. (Rutledge v. Rutledge (1953) 119 Cal.App.2d 114, 120.) Another consequence of failing to file the lis pendens is that a subsequent bona fide purchaser and encumbrancer may not be bound by the judgment in the partition action. (Cal. L. Revision Comm. Comment to CCP § 872.250.)

It is important to note that a lis pendens is void and invalid as to any adverse party or owner of record unless the mailing requirements have been met by the party recording the notice, and a proof of service in compliance with Code of Civil Procedure § 1013(a) is recorded with the lis pendens. (CCP § 405.23.) These requirements should not be overlooked.

Once the lis pendens has been filed, all persons are considered to have notice of the action concerning the property as described in the notice. (CCP § 872.250.) A lis pendens acts essentially as constructive notice to anyone who takes a mortgage on the property. (Turner v. Bank of America Nat. Trust & Sav. Ass'n (1933) 135 Cal.App. 314.) A person intending to seek a partition of property should ensure that they adequately understand the process.

At Underwood Law Firm, our Carlsbad Partition Attorneys are well-versed in the legal remedy of partition, and are ready to discuss your legal issues.

Client Reviews
★★★★★
“We were in need of a real estate attorney. Eli Underwood provided excellent legal advice and services. He explained everything well and followed through with all important issues that needed attention. We found him to be reliable, courteous, patient and extremely professional. We highly recommend Mr. Underwood without any reservations.” I.S.
★★★★★
"I own a real estate investment company that operates across multiple states (California, Washington, Oregon, Montana, and more), whenever I run into an issue that needs legal attention, Eli is my first call. I've been working with him for years. He is an amazing attorney and I highly recommend him." Thank you for your help Sir!" T.W.
★★★★★
"Mr. Underwood is a fantastic Lawyer with extraordinary ethics. He responds quickly, which is rare these days, and he is very knowledgeable in his craft. It was a pleasure working with him and we will definitely use his services in the future if needed. Thank you for your help Sir!" M.O.
★★★★★
"Eli took our case and controlled every hurdle put before us. I one time commented to him that he must love his job because it seemed that he was always available. When talking about my case to anyone I always bring up where, I believe, the other parties Lawyer tried to take advantage of my wife and me. Eli stopped him in his tracks. On top of it being easy to work with Eli, it was a pleasure to have had him represent us. We were in good hands." E.T
★★★★★
"We were in need of an attorney with considerable knowledge of real estate law and the legal issues related to property ownership. Eli Underwood went above and beyond our expectations. In keeping us abreast of our suit, his communication skills were outstanding. This talent was especially demonstrated when dealing with the apposing counsel. We feel this gave us a tremendous advantage over the opposing party that resulted in us reaching a successful outcome. I would highly recommend Eli Underwood as we found him to be an exceptional attorney." P.B.
★★★★★
"In our need for legal services we found Eli to be well informed and on top of our case and our needs. Our's was not an ordinary case as it was a case with many facets. It was a very convoluted case. There were multiple owners involved in a property dispute where one of the owners sued the rest of the owners with a Partition Suit. Needless to say Eli was instrumental in helping us resolve our differences and gained us a profitable sale all with good end results for all. If you hire Eli Underwood you will not be disappointed!" M.A.