tenancy in partnership Archives

What is a “rightful” dissociation from a Partnership? (Corp. Code 16601)

Published on: August 26, 2022 | By Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

Underwood-Blog-Images-5-300x300 General partnerships, and their “joint venture” cousins, are composed of partners seeking to make a profit in a business venture. But things don’t always work out. Often, a once promising endeavor breaks down due to mismanagement and miscommunication. In these situations, partners may feel the urge to get out with whatever equity they can. Usually, it isn’t that easy.

The Revised Uniform Partnership Act allows partners to dissociate from their partnerships whenever they want. Yet this withdrawal can sometimes cause serious damage, especially when the partner trying to leave was a major source of capital. For that reason, the California Corporations Code provides for penalties when the dissociation is “wrongful.” In the end, getting out of a partnership isn’t so much about doing it the “right” way as it is about avoiding the “wrong” way to dissociate.

What is dissociation?

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What is an Elisor? (Corp. Code § 128(4))

Published on: August 24, 2022 | By Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

Underwood-Blog-Images-1-2-300x300 Just because a party prevails in a lawsuit does not mean the matter is over. Rarely discussed but crucially important is the fact that a judgment must be enforced once it is entered. This isn’t always easy. Losing parties don’t always want to cooperate, especially when they’re operating without an attorney.

Sometimes, a party might “disappear,” ignoring all communications from the other side and the court. Other times, they might simply refuse to sign documents as ordered, convinced the court got it wrong. These actions can cost victorious parties thousands of extra dollars of their time and money. Thankfully, in these situations, litigants have a unique remedy to combat this behavior: an elisor.

An elisor is a person appointed by the court to perform functions like the execution of a deed or document. (Blueberry Properties, LLC v. Chow (2014) 230 Cal.App.4th 1017, 1020.) They are most commonly utilized in cases where a party never shows up or where a party refuses, even under court order, to sign documents as required by the court.

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How do you partition a condominium? (CCP § 872.820)

Published on: August 17, 2022 | By Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

Underwood-Blog-Images-4-300x300 When co-owners of property decide they want to go their separate ways but cannot come to an agreement on a buyout or reimbursements, they can institute a partition action and have the court system solve the problem.

While partition actions usually involve homes or commercial properties, they can also involve condominiums. Condos bring with them some additional complexities because condo owners generally own an interest in their individual units and the common areas of the condominium complex.

This dual ownership can pose problems because there are restrictions in place about what can and can’t be partitioned when condominiums are involved. Thankfully, the Underwood Law Firm is more than familiar with partitions of all types of property and is here to assist property owners throughout the process.

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Can an ousted cotenant recover possession of the property? (Civ. Code § 843)

Published on: August 12, 2022 | By Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

Underwood-Blog-Images-2-300x300 Yes. Co-owners of property are entitled to certain rights, namely, the right to possess and use the property as they see fit. But sometimes, things do not work out with the other owners.

Heirs to an estate can bicker, business relationships can fall through, and family dynamics can fall apart. This may result in the rightful owner of the property being ousted by the other(s). In these situations, finding the right real estate lawyer to assist in the process of recovering possession is crucial. The Underwood Law Firm, P.C. is familiar with these sensitive matters and has the legal acumen to help you recover possession of your property.

Do cotenants each have a right to occupy their property?

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Does RUPA apply to joint ventures? (Corp. Code § 16101)

Published on: July 27, 2022 | By Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

Underwood-Blog-Images-1-3-300x300 Yes. While joint ventures are a distinct type of business entity, they share many similarities with general partnerships in California. In fact, “the resemblance between a partnership and joint venture is so close that the rights as between adventurers are governed by practically the same rules that govern partners.” (Milton Kauffman, Inc. v. Superior Court (1949) 94 Cal.App.2d 8, 17.) That being said, there are some differences between the two. This post will address those differences and discuss the common issues that arise among them.

What is a joint venture?

Under California law, a joint venture “exists where there is an agreement between the parties under which they have a community of interest, that is, a joint interest, in a common business undertaking…” (County of Riverside v. Loma Linda Univ. (1981) 118 Cal.App.3d 300, 313.) In essence, “a joint venture is an undertaking by two or more persons to carry out a single business enterprise for profit.” (Unruh-Haxton v. Regents of University of California (2008) 162 Cal.App.4th 343, 370.)

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What is the difference Between Tenants in Common and Joint Tenants? (Code of Civil Procedure section 683)

Published on: July 13, 2022 | By Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

Underwood-Blog-Images-1-300x300 In California, most real estate is held either as marital property, as a tenancy in partnership, as joint tenants, or as tenants-in-common. While holding titles as spouses or in a partnership is relatively straightforward, questions frequently arise as to the differences between “co-tenants” and “tenants-in-common.” This article will explore the difference between the second type of ways of holding titles between unmarried individuals, which is generally known as “co-tenancy.” (Civ. Code § 682.)

How is a joint tenancy created in real estate?

Generally, creating and maintaining a joint tenancy is much more difficult than creating a tenancy in common. First, a joint tenancy exists only when the “four unities” are concurrently present in the estate: the unity of interest, unity of time, unity of title, and unity of possession. (Tenhet, 18 Cal.3d 150, 155.) Second, by statute, a joint tenancy exists “when expressly declared in the will or transferred to be a joint tenancy.” (CCP § 683.)

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The Problem with Partnerships

Published on: October 8, 2021 | By Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

A handshake with a building image overlay
At some point or another, it becomes necessary to have “the talk” and “define the relationship” within a business. While the thought of defining business roles may make some people nervous, not having a conversation is a source of even greater anxiety when the relationship involves an investment, business venture, or development project.

The problem, for many people, is that they don’t know what terms to use to define a business relationship or how to structure it other than as a “50/50 partnership.” Many people are reluctant to structure it in any other way because of a concern of looking “greedy” or because another structure could cause the other party to back out of the deal, thereby removing the capital necessary to make the project happen.

If you find yourself in these situations, however, you should know that there are many alternatives to a “true partnership” that may work better for all of the parties involved.

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