California Partition Law Blog

The purpose of this article is to explain the ownership presumption in a probate dispute. This is because property ownership can cause disputes even after death, which must be resolved in the probate or civil courts. (Schlyen v. Schlyen (1954) 43 Cal.2d 361, 370–371.) Specifically, the understanding of how marriage affects ownership presumptions in...

The purpose of this blog post is to discuss who must be named in a partition lawsuit. It is important to name all the necessary parties so that the Court can properly issue a judgment at the conclusion of the partition action. As partition lawsuits involve rights to property, it is pretty obvious that...

The purpose of this article is to explore the finer distinctions between deeds and contracts. In California law, a deed is one of the most powerful legal documents that any person will ever handle, but there is very little in the public domain available about them in order to understand them better. Moreover, unlike...

The purpose of this article is to explain a partition sale and who must be notified of a sale. If the co-owners cannot agree about what to do with a property or whether they want to sell it, a partition action may be necessary. This means forcing the sale of the property to divide...

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...

The purpose of this article is to explain what a Transfer on Death (TOD) Deed is. TOD Deeds are meant to allowing people, especially elderly people, to transfer their residential property. These deeds are meant make it easier and less expensive to transfer that property without needing a will or living trust that would...

The purpose of this article is to explain what a short cause trial is. A short cause case is a civil case where the parties or court estimate the trial will take five hours or less. Because of a short cause trial’s brevity, these types of cases can get priority in the courtroom. These...

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. A cloud on title is a claim or encumbrance (like a...

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. Probate commissions are fees paid to executors and administrators for their services in managing and...