Articles Posted in legal declarations

Can a Co-Owner Take Out a Mortgage Without Your Consent?
Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

Yes. California law allows a co-owner to take out a mortgage without the other co-owners consent or knowledge. Co-owning property with other parties can be quite a responsibility that can be difficult to manage. One particularly stressful aspect of managing property is managing the debt that comes with financing the property. Some parties may even…

Continue reading ›
Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) § 872.020—Partition Law Title
Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

California Code of Civil Procedure section 872.020 is under Title 10.5 Partition of Real and Personal Property. This statute details the scope, or in other words, the actions of partition that the title controls. The statute aims to clarify the property to which Partition Law actions may apply. Code of Civil Procedure section 872.020 states…

Continue reading ›
Partition Law Definitions (Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) section 872.010.) 
Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

The California Partition Law begins in Code of Civil Procedure section 872.010 with definitions. These definitions apply throughout the entirety of the Partition Law, which ends only in Code of Civil Procedure section 874.323. The point of this statute is to provide uniformity throughout the Partition Law and reduce any uncertainty about the meaning of…

Continue reading ›
What can you do when a co-owner refuses to pay taxes (CCP § 872.140)? 
Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

In every property co-owned by two or more persons, there are common costs. Common costs are those costs for the property that are common to all owners or for the common benefit of all owners. In California, cotenants are required to pay for their portion of the common costs. Therefore, cotenants must pay for their…

Continue reading ›
What Are the Rules for Buying Probate Property (Prob. Code § 10580)?
Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

When a person passes away and leaves behind the property, their property must first pass through the probate process before being passed down to family members and loved ones. Essentially, the probate process is a legal process that determines the execution of the estate of someone who has passed away. Moreover, during the probate process,…

Continue reading ›
What is a Petition to Determine Distribution Rights (Prob. Code § 11705)? 
Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

For family members of a deceased loved one, the most important part of probate proceedings is the final distribution of the estate. This occurs once the estate’s debts and obligations have been satisfied, and it serves to more or less end the probate of the estate. But what if someone thinks they’re entitled to a…

Continue reading ›
Can one owner sign a lease for an entire property? 
Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

Yes, although the tenant is not allowed to exclude the non-consenting owners. The reason for this is grounded in ancient legal doctrine regarding the “right to possession” that all co-owners of property share together. Each owner may exercise this right, and each may grant it to a third party, should they so choose, even without…

Continue reading ›
10 Things Every Realtor Needs to Know About Partitions 
Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

While it may not be obvious, a sizeable portion of the work that real estate agents and realtors do is court-ordered. Real estate law is a massive field, and often, the disposition of litigation results in the court forcing the sale of a property, be it a business, home, condominium, etc. As such, many realtors…

Continue reading ›
How do you enforce real estate contracts in Probate Court (Probate Code section 850)? 
Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

Real estate contracts are an expansive field of both law and life. Sales, leases, options, and certainly wills can all fall under this broad category. Normally, once a contract is signed, parties can go to court to enforce them by filing a lawsuit. But if one of the parties has passed away, the transaction becomes…

Continue reading ›
What Is a Real Estate Investment Trust (Corp. Code section 23000)?
Underwood Law Firm, P.C.

In California, a real estate investment trust is “any unincorporated association or trust formed to engage in business and managed by, or under the direction of, one or more trustees for the benefit of the holders or owners of transferable shares of beneficial interest in the trust estate and (1) that formed for the purpose…

Continue reading ›

Client Reviews

We were in need of a real estate attorney. Eli Underwood provided excellent legal advice and services. He explained everything well and followed through with all important issues that needed attention. We found him to be reliable, courteous, patient and extremely professional. We highly recommend...

I.S.

I own a real estate investment company that operates across multiple states (California, Washington, Oregon, Montana, and more), whenever I run into an issue that needs legal attention, Eli is my first call. I've been working with him for years. He is an amazing attorney and I highly recommend him."...

T.W.

Mr. Underwood is a fantastic Lawyer with extraordinary ethics. He responds quickly, which is rare these days, and he is very knowledgeable in his craft. It was a pleasure working with him and we will definitely use his services in the future if needed. Thank you for your help Sir!

M.O.

Eli took our case and controlled every hurdle put before us. I one time commented to him that he must love his job because it seemed that he was always available. When talking about my case to anyone I always bring up where, I believe, the other parties Lawyer tried to take advantage of my wife and...

E.T

We were in need of an attorney with considerable knowledge of real estate law and the legal issues related to property ownership. Eli Underwood went above and beyond our expectations. In keeping us abreast of our suit, his communication skills were outstanding. This talent was especially...

P.B.

In our need for legal services we found Eli to be well informed and on top of our case and our needs. Our's was not an ordinary case as it was a case with many facets. It was a very convoluted case. There were multiple owners involved in a property dispute where one of the owners sued the rest of...

M.A.