California Partition Law Blog

It seems logical that a parent has a legal and moral duty to care for their children, but is there an inverse duty? Filial responsibility is the responsibility for a child to take care of their parents. This is important if you have a parent in need of support because failing to provide help may…

Joint ownership of property carries a significant number of rights with it. However, a joint owner cannot sell the property without permission from other co-owners. If one co-owner wants to sell or encumber the entire property and the other co-owner disagrees this can cause conflict. Outside of marriage, property is usually owned as a tenancy…

Partition is the legal procedure used to divide property among co-owners, often used when co-owners disagree about the property’s sale or division. In California, partition can be achieved through multiple methods: (1) Partition In Kind; (2) Partition by Sale; and (3) Partition by Appraisal. This article only explores Partition In Kind’s specific purpose and procedure…

Registered Domestic Partnerships are a legally recognized form of union between two adults who willingly engage in a relationship of mutual caring without marriage. Under California law, registered domestic partnerships receive the same state-level rights and responsibilities as married couples. Federal law does not, however, afford registered domestic partnerships the same legal recognition, rights, or…

One of the issues a property owner encounters is split ownership of property, whether they want to take all of it or get it off their hands. Where multiple people have an interest in property, especially when they already know each other, disputes can get messy. Where one or both owners disagree on how to…

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 for other specific purposes like…

“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 the same people. However, while…

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 is responsible for the costs…

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, meaning a court imposes them…

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 rights have been “grandfathered in.”…