California Partition Law Blog
Civil Code section 2924 states that “every transfer of an interest in property, other than in trust, made only as a security for the performance of another act, is to be deemed a mortgage.” The “other than in trust” portion of the statute refers only to express trusts, however, because “under a deed of trust the trustee obtains none of the incidents of ownership, other than the right to convey upon default.” (Blair v. Blair (1941) 44 Cal.App.2d 140, 146.)
As such, the functionality of the deed of trust is more or less identical to a mortgage. In terms of semantics, however, the big difference is that the mortgage is a two-party transaction whereas the deed of trust involves three. In addition, there is also a difference with how title actually passes with deeds of trust.
Filing a successful partition complaint can be quite difficult depending on the circumstances. There are a great number of statutes that need to be precisely followed, otherwise the court is likely to toss the complaint out on a motion to demurrer.
Does the appeal of an interlocutory judgment automatically stay the partition case?
LLC’s are perhaps the most common form of business entity in the country on account of their approachability. But their large number means that plenty will and do fail. When this occurs, members of the LLC can file a lawsuit for “involuntary dissolution.”
An order determining succession to real property is an alternative petition to get a court order transferring the property. (Prob. Code § 13154.) If the estate is small enough, and a successor to the decedent has proof that they are entitled to a certain piece of property, then they may use this process to become a title owner.
Can a Tenant in Common Force a Sale?
A lis pendens is a notice that a lawsuit has been filed against real property which could affect that property’s title. The lis pendens notifies any potential buyer that there is a lawsuit involving a real property claim. This is important because a potential buyer with knowledge of the lis pendens will be bound by the court’s eventual judgment on the lawsuit.
Under Government Code section 26665, a sheriff may serve “all writs, notices, or other legal process issued by superior courts in civil actions…” 
The Legislature has not established a specific statute of limitations for actions to quiet title. (Salazar v. Thomas (2015) 236 Cal.App.4th 467, 476.) Instead, the statute of limitations is based on the underlying theory of relief for the action. (Id.) For example, if the underlying theory is relief for trespass or injury to real property, then the applicable statute of limitations would be three years. (Code of Civil Procedure § 338.)
In recent years, the growth of vacation rentals have driven the rise of purchasing investment properties in highly desirable areas throughout the country. For years, investment rentals were so profitable that many people jumped into the market and purchased properties to get a piece of the action. Unfortunately, in recent years, the sheer number of vacation rentals in these areas diluted the marketplace and made it increasingly more difficult to turn a profit from these investments, and in some cases, have lead to investment losses.
Generally, when a trial court orders an interlocutory judgment directing a partition by sale, it can appoint a referee to conduct the sale (CCP § 873.010). However, when a