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Rancho Cordova Partition Lawyers

Rancho Cordova is a city in Sacramento County, about 12 miles east of the state capital of Sacramento and it was named after the local Cordova Vineyard. Rancho Cordova is an established community with old homes and newer homes. Any home buyer can encounter joint ownership problems and when that happens a partition action might be required. An experienced Rancho Cordova Partition Lawyer will be able to give you just the right legal advice on how to handle a partition action.

Rancho Cordova Partition Lawyer usually find partition actions to be the best remedy for joint owners in disputes in four broad categories:

  • Parent-Child shared tenants in common in real estate;
  • Brother-Sister shared tenants in common in real estate;
  • Investor-Investor shared tenants in common in real estate; and
  • Significant others shared tenants in common in real estate;

As the legal process of partitioning a property can be difficult, one element that should be at the forefront of any one’s mind should be the costs of partition. Under the law, the “costs” of partition include “reasonable” legal fees spent by a partitioning party for the “common benefit.” (CCP § 874.020.) The statute providing for legal or attorneys’ fees, however, is larger than just the partition action and includes all of those for the common benefit in prosecuting or defending other lawsuits to protect title, survey the property, or confirm its boundaries.

When a California partition action is finished, a knowledgeable Rancho Cordova Partition Attorney will seek the legal fees and costs of the action for activities spent for the benefit of all owners. (see In re Flynn (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2003) 297 B.R. 599.) It is also worth noting that self-represented parties—those persons who participate in the litigation without a lawyer—cannot receive money from the other parties for those services. (Mueller v. Martin (1953) 116 Cal.App.2d 431.) In other words, the statute makes the recovery of “attorneys’ fees” available only to those licensed to practice law. (Bennett v. Potter (1919) 180 Cal. 736.)

One question that an experienced Rancho Cordova Partition Lawyer will focus on will be the issue of providing evidence on the topic of the “common benefit.” The law is vague and unclear on this topic. The purpose of the law is to require the owners who benefit from the legal services to bear the results of the benefits of the lawsuit. (Stutz v. Davis (1981) 122 Cal.App.3d 1.) These legal fees and costs are not a part of any intermediate, or interlocutory, judgment but instead are permitted only in the final judgment. (Broome v. Broome (1919) 179 Cal. 638.)

Significantly, even transferring property from one owner to another cannot extinguish the right to attorneys’ fees incurred for the “common benefit.” (Capuccio v. Caire (1932) 215 Cal. 518.) Instead, the land itself carries the lien for these interests even after the transfer.

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

Client Reviews
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“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.