What is a California Partition Action?
If you co-own property with one or more other parties, there may come a time when one of you wants to sell, while the others prefer to hold on to the property. The law protects you in this case, with the California Partition Action. Working with a law firm experienced with filing a partition action, […]
Court Determines Applicable Statute of Limitations for Quiet Title Action
Plaintiffs owned a commercial property and have used it for their own businesses and also have had tenants that have paid them rent. In January of 2005 a deed of trust, and absolute assignment of rents which were signed in December of 2004, were recorded in the Kern County Recorders office. The deed of trust […]
Why Tenancy In Common Agreements Should be Specific
Agreements must be drafted specifically and if they are not, relief cannot be granted in the manner that the parties thought should have occurred. In Leg Investments v. Boxler, the California Court of Appeals found that a tenancy in common agreement should have been specific In 1976 Carl and Judith Bumpass and the Boxler family purchased […]
Removing an Expired Mechanics Lien
A contractor who files a mechanics lien on a property generally only has 90 days to foreclose upon it from the time a contractor records the mechanics lien on the property. If a contractor fails to foreclose on the mechanics lien during that period, the mechanics lien expires. Often times, a mechanics lien is still […]
Five Items Needed By Singles in Estate Planning
Interestingly enough, for the first time in the United States, there are more people who are single than married. A common misconception that typically singles make is that they do not need to plan their estates until they are married or sometime in the future. Everyone should have some type of estate planning done as […]
Five Costly Mistakes in Estate Planning to Avoid
In the late 1990’s it was estimated that about only sixty one percent of Americans, fifty five years or older had a will or trust established. Recently that number has surprisingly declined to about fifty four percent of Americans having a will or trust in place. Some may have a misconception that not creating a […]
HOA Can Regulate Short Term Rentals
The California Court of Appeal recently found that a HOA can adopt reasonable rules and impose fees related to short term rentals of condominium units. Watts v. Oak Shores Community Association provides some guidance on an expanding area for landlords and property owners as to the proliferation of short term rentals, particularly in high demand vacation spots. […]
Purchasing a Bootleg Unit
They have many names: “converted garage,” “illegal unit,” “bootleg unit,” or “unpermitted unit,” but they’re all the same. There are many units in the City of Los Angeles and surrounding cities that are not actually permitted by the local government authority. In particular, the unit does not have a certificate of occupancy which means that […]
Gaining Property Through Adverse Possession
Adverse possession is a method to gain title to real estate by occupying it for at least five years. There are five requirements that must be satisfied in order to gain title through adverse possession: 1. Possession must be held under “claim of right” or “color of title.” 2. There must be an actual, open, […]
Using Joint Tenancy as an Estate Planning Tool
I often hear from clients and potential clients that they want to add a relative’s name to a piece of real estate as “joint tenants” in order to avoid probate. Although this is probably the cheapest estate planning tool you can do in the short term, it is the least favorable for most circumstances for […]