California Partition Law Blog
The purpose of this article is to explain what a Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT) is. A QPRT is an irrevocable trust which allows the creator, the grantor, to move a home out of their personal estate. This is done to give the home to a future beneficiary with gift tax savings. This is important because a QPRT lets the homeowner stay in the house with a “retained interest” until the specified date. After that date, the remaining interest and ownership of the house transfers to the beneficiary.
A QPRT trust must meet certain provisions: (1) all income generated by the trust must be given to the grantor at least annually (2) trust principal (money) will not be given to anyone besides the grantor before the term ends (3) the trust only holds one property with a reserved right of occupancy for the grantor (4) the trust cannot be terminated and its property cannot be distributed to beneficiaries before the end of the term (5) the residence must continually be the grantor’s primary residence (6) the house cannot become damaged or uninhabitable unless it is repaired or replaced before two years or the term ends (6) the trust cannot be sold or transferred to anyone else during the term. (26 C.F.R. § 25.2702-5; Sohn v. United States (2024) 2024 WL 1182879, at *1.)
A taxpayer who owns a residence can, as the grantor, transfer the property with a deed. This deed must be recorded with the local property registry. This means the home is retitled in the trust’s name. The grantor keeps the right to live in the property which means the taxable value of the home to the trust is discounted under federal tax law. This is important because the longer the grantor stays in the home, the more it can be discounted. When the term ends, the beneficiary gets the residence outright or in “further trust” as asset protection. If the grantor wants to stay in the home, they can rent it at fair market value which allows them transfers more cash to the trust without being taxed.
The purpose of this article is to explain what a Transfer on Death (TOD) 
The purpose of this article is to explain what a bona fide purchaser for value is and how that status impacts someone’s property rights. A bona fide purchaser for value (or bona fide purchaser) is someone who acquires a property interest or encumbrance like a property, mortgage, or lease, and meets two specific criteria.
The purpose of this article is to discuss the commonly-discussed, but poorly understood, concepts of a “cloud on title.” A “Cloud on title” is an adverse claim, which may look good on its face, but is actually invalid or barred in some way. 
Probate proceedings can often be complex, especially when it comes to the sale of property within an estate. In California, the rules governing commissions for agents, brokers, and auctioneers involved in probate sales are outlined in California Probate Code.
When it comes to real estate transactions, ensuring a clean and clear title is essential. However, what happens if a property is sold without a perfect title, only for the seller to acquire the missing rights or interests later? This scenario is where the After Acquired Title Doctrine comes into play. In this blog, we’ll discuss what this doctrine entails, its implications for buyers and sellers, and how it impacts real estate transactions.
The Marketable Record Title act provides a statutory time limit to eliminate certain liens. Specifically, the purpose is to enhance the marketability of property by fixing an expiration date for certain interests, which are generally ancient mortgages, deeds of trust, unexercised options, powers of termination, unperformed contracts for the sale of real property, dormant mineral intersts, and abandoned easements, while also providing a procedure for allowing the interests to be preserved. In other words, the Act helps to simplify and facilitate real property transactions. In this blog, we’ll delve into what the Marketable Record Title Act entails, its significance, and how it impacts property owners.
Often, the question of distributing rent earned on a co-owned property arises in the context of cotenants. Cotenants have equal rights to possess their property with their fellow cotenants. This means that no one cotenant can exclude another from the property. One cotenant can, however, assign their 
Probate Code section 859 protects certain individuals whose property or money is taken, concealed, or disposed of by another. Section 859 does this by imposing hefty penalties on anyone who wrongfully takes or conceals property belonging to certain groups.
A trust is a legal device that is commonly used in estate planning. A trust represents “a collection of assets and liabilities” that can be held and transferred by an individual to another individual, the “beneficiary.” (Portico Mgmt. Grp., LLC v. Harrison (2011) 202 Cal.App.4th 464, 473.) When the trustee, the person responsible for managing and distributing the trust’s assets, has a personal interest in those assets, certain problems can arise. This is because the trustee is bound by several legal duties designed to safeguard the interests of the beneficiaries. Therefore, if a trustee is also a beneficiary, they must make sure that they do not unduly favor themselves at the expense of the other beneficiaries.