In California, easements are legal rights that allow one party to use another party’s property for a specific purpose, without transferring ownership of that property. Easements are be created through express or implied agreements, long-standing use, or necessity. They are commonly used to grant access to driveways, utility lines, or…
“Who” gets “what” is the most important part of creating a will, trust, or other similar instrument. Often the terms heirs and beneficiaries come up and can be disputed during the probate process. The two terms often are mentioned in the same document and can seem like they refer to…
A partition action is the legal process of co-owners dividing a piece of real property. There are various reasons why a partition may be necessary, and different types of partitions exist to ensure the proper remedy is available when these circumstances arise. Co-owners involved in partition actions commonly ask who…
Trusts are an important way to set out one’s wishes for how and when you want to transfer assets like property. While trusts usually are set up as written contracts, other trusts can be enforced by the court, like resulting trusts and constructive trusts. These types of trusts are involuntary,…
A grandfather clause in a real estate context means a clause from a law or regulation was grandfathered in from an old version of that law or regulation. This means even if the law currently would affect someone if they were exempt under the old version of the law those…
An encumbrance is a term frequently used in context with real estate. It is most often used with regards to property transfers. When contracting to sell or convey property it is usually implied that that property is being delivered free of encumbrances. (Smiddy v. Grafton (1912) 163 Cal. 16, 18.)…
Fiduciary duties are legal obligations that one party owes to another in relationships involving trust, care, and loyalty. California law places significant emphasis on upholding these duties when fiduciaries, such as attorneys, fail to act in their client’s best interests, often for personal gain or through negligence. Breaches of fiduciary…
Yes. Child support liens attach to real estate in California both voluntarily and involuntarily. Liens are effectively a public notice of outstanding claims against your property. In the case of child support, a custodial parent can place a lien against the non-custodial parent’s property when they fail to make court…
The California Multi-Party Account Law governs financial accounts with multiple endorsers and beneficiaries, such as joint accounts, pay on death accounts, and Totten trust accounts. The law ensures transparency and protection for account holders by outlining how these accounts are managed, how funds are distributed on death, and the rights…
Commercial real estate is property being operated to generate business revenue through rental income or capital gains. Because it is meant to generate revenue if it is residential property, it must be used as rental housing to still be considered commercial real estate. It is not personal property. Commercial real…