Articles Posted in property owner

In California, business enterprises can take many forms (LLCs, corporations, partnerships, etc.). But perhaps the most unique is the “joint venture,” a special entity that, more often than not, is imposed by courts as a matter of law. This is because a joint venture is simply an “undertaking by two or more persons jointly to…

The deed to a property is the most important document a property owner has. It describes the title and its associated rights while operating as the conveyance of property itself. For that reason, the law presumes the validity of deeds without defects on their face. But that does not mean that every deed is legally…

Even when a party finally secures a judgment of partition, the property itself must still be sold (or partitioned in another way). This raises a brand-new set of issues for litigants as they attempt to figure out the terms of sale, when the property should be sold, and, most importantly, the asking price. Usually, anyone…

In most partition actions, the court appoints a partition referee in order to see that the property is sold or properly divided. The job of a Partition referee requires one to carry out several responsibilities and obligations. The purpose of this article is to provide some information on a partition referee’s duties and authority under…

The Partition of Real Property Act (PRPA) is an exciting new development in real estate law only recently passed by the California Legislature. Its effects are far-reaching, and its changes to the procedure for partitions cannot be understated. At Underwood Law Firm, our attorneys are more than familiar with partitions and the complexities such lawsuits…

Not all eminent domain proceedings involve the government taking an entire piece of property. If the property is large enough and the government’s project is limited in scope (expanding a road, for instance), then the government can instead opt for a “partial” taking of the property. Despite this difference, partial takings are nonetheless subject to…

An escrow is a tool used in real estate transactions to ensure that the purchase and sale of property occur as intended. At its core, it is merely the “holding” of significant property documents (like the deed) and the down payment for a piece of property. This ensures that the actual purchase of the property…

The significance of the differences between legal and equitable title is an outright confusing topic, requiring some knowledge of constructive trusts, beneficial interests, and seller’s liens. That said, the concept can be made digestible by boiling it down to its essential elements. When done, this simplification reveals how often we encounter both types of titles…

Partition litigation can be broadly categorized into two phases. In the first, the parties fight over whether there is a right to partition the subject property. If the court agrees that such a right exists, then the litigation shifts into the second phase, where the parties determine the manner and means by which the property…

Writs of possession are special statutory remedies that usually appear in unlawful detainer actions. As their name implies, they are a means of recovering possession from someone who is wrongfully occupying a property. Writs are unique, however, in that they are almost exclusively a post-judgment tool. This means that there must be a court judgment,…