Answers
The questions people ask before they call us
Answers based on recorded interviews with our founding partner, Josué Cristóbal Guerrero, who litigates and tries these cases. Where a code section applies, it is named.
Co-owners and inherited houses
When family members end up owning a house together, and one of them wants out or will not leave.
Can my sibling force the sale of the house we inherited in California?
Generally yes. Once title is in your names, any co-owner can go to court and force a sale or a buyout through what California calls partition. Before a court-ordered sale, the owners who did not ask for one usually get a chance to buy out the owner who did.
My brother is living in our late parent's house and won't pay rent or move out. What can the rest of us do?
It depends on who owns the house now. In most families the answer is to get someone legally in charge first: an administrator or executor if the house has to go through probate, or the successor trustee if it is in a trust. That person can then evict an occupant who has no right to be there.
How much does a partition action cost in California, and who pays the attorney fees?
A partition is a full lawsuit, so it costs what litigation costs. A court can divide attorney fees among the owners in proportion to what each owns, but that award is not guaranteed. Most partitions settle, and in a settlement you get only what you negotiate.
We inherited a house in Riverside County with my siblings, and I live out of state. How do we handle a dispute over it?
You have exactly the same rights as a sibling who lives down the street. You probably will not be the one running the estate or trust from another state, so most out-of-state owners hire their own California lawyer to watch the process and protect their share.
Deeds, title and bad deals
Forged deeds, quiet title, hidden defects and foreclosure sales.
Someone recorded a fake deed on my parent's house in Los Angeles County. What should I do first?
If a forged or fraudulent deed was recorded, file a police report, contact your insurance company and call a real estate lawyer. Within the first couple of weeks, you want a civil complaint on file to cancel the fake document and a lis pendens recorded against the property, before anyone can borrow against it or sell it.
Can I do a quiet title action myself in California, or do I need a lawyer?
You can. Anyone can represent themselves in almost anything. Whether that is wise is a different question: real estate matters are complicated and high in dollar value, and a mistake can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, so we recommend hiring an attorney.
How long do I have to sue a seller who hid a problem with the house I bought in California?
It depends on the claim, and a seller nondisclosure case has more than one possible deadline. Generally it is four years for breach of a written contract and three years from discovery for fraud, and a failure-to-disclose claim can be as short as two years. Which deadline applies, and the date it starts running, turn on the facts, so treat the shortest as your deadline until a lawyer says otherwise.
My house was already sold at foreclosure. Is it too late to challenge it in California?
Not always, but most people will not qualify. There are specific causes of action for a wrongful foreclosure after the sale. Generally, though, you must have offered to pay off the total loan, which is called tender. There are exceptions to that rule, and in our experience they are narrow and rarely apply.
Contractors and liens
Bad work and liens on your home.
My contractor did bad work on my house in San Diego County. Can I sue, and how long do I have?
Usually yes, if the numbers justify a construction defect case. A claim on your written contract is generally four years, property damage claims are often three, and ten years is the outer limit for hidden defects. These cases need an expert witness and typically take one to three years, so the amount at stake has to be substantial.
A contractor put a mechanics lien on my house in California. How do I get it removed?
To clear a mechanics lien or similar property lien from your home, look at the two deadlines first. A contractor has limited time to record a lien, then 90 days after recording to file a lawsuit to enforce it. If they miss that, the lien expires and is unenforceable, and you can ask the court to order your property released from it.
Neighbors, fences and easements
Fence lines, shared driveways, and what years of use can and cannot get someone.
I just bought a house and found out the neighbor's fence is on my property. Do I have to accept it?
Not necessarily. Get a survey first to be sure you are right. In general a fence belongs to whoever's property it stands on, so a fence inside your line is usually yours. A fence on the line is a common boundary fence, and neither neighbor can change it without the other's permission or a judge's order.
Can I stop a neighbor from crossing my land if they've used that path or driveway for years?
It depends on whether they ever had your permission. Open use of a shared driveway or path for more than five years without permission can create what is called an unperfected prescriptive easement. To put it on record, the neighbor needs a judgment in a quiet title lawsuit. If the use was by permission, it cannot ripen into a right at all.
What does it take to win adverse possession in California?
Your use of someone else's property must be hostile, open, notorious and continuous for five years, and you must pay all the property taxes on it. Each of those words has a specific legal meaning. Use that began with the true owner's permission generally does not count.
What is the difference between adverse possession and a prescriptive easement?
Adverse possession gets you ownership. A prescriptive easement gets you a specific right to use someone else's land. The elements are the same, hostile, open, notorious and continuous for five years, with one difference: adverse possession also requires paying the property taxes.
Trusts, wills and family money
Beneficiary rights, contest deadlines and money taken before a parent died.
The trustee of my parent's trust won't tell me anything or pay out my share. What can I do in California?
Ask in writing for a copy of the trust and an accounting. Those are the two big rights a California beneficiary usually has once the trust can no longer be changed. If the trustee still will not do the job, you can petition the court to compel them, remove them, or seek damages.
How long do I have to contest a trust or a will in California?
Generally 120 days. For a trust, it runs from when the trustee serves the notice of trust administration, or 60 days from when you are delivered a copy of the trust during that window, whichever is later. For a will, it is 120 days after the will is admitted to probate. If no trust notice was ever sent, that 120-day deadline does not run, though other limits can still apply.
My parent changed their will or trust right before they died and left everything to one sibling. Can we challenge it?
Yes, and these cases are heavily litigated. A sudden reversal of an estate plan in the last years of someone's life is suspect, especially with diminished capacity, Alzheimer's or dementia. The main claim is undue influence: the person who benefited pressured your parent into making the change.
A sibling used Mom's power of attorney to take money before she died. Can we get it back?
Generally yes. A power of attorney lets someone act for your mother. Using that position to get richer breaches the duty of loyalty and other fiduciary duties, and it can lead to financial elder abuse claims and damages well beyond the amount taken.
My parent's trust is administered in San Diego County. What does a trust dispute look like there, from filing to the first hearing?
A trust contest or other trust dispute starts with a petition, the probate court's version of a complaint, filed in San Diego County probate court. The petition may challenge the terms of a trust, how it is being run, or the trustee. Everyone entitled to notice must get it at least 30 days before the first hearing.
How much does it cost to contest a trust or will in California, and who pays?
You pay, at least at first. It is litigation. Whether someone has to reimburse you if you win is a different question, and it depends on an attorney fee clause in the trust or will, or on a statute such as the one for financial elder abuse.
My parents are still alive and changing their trust. Can I stop them?
Generally no. You have no right to your parents' property while they are alive, and whatever rights you may have usually arise when they die. A parent with capacity can generally change a revocable trust, and it is their decision to make.
Cost, fit and getting started
What litigation costs, whether a case is worth bringing, and what to ask before hiring anyone.
How much does a real estate lawyer cost in California for a property dispute?
It depends on the case. We usually offer flat fee litigation paid monthly so you can predict the cost. Most of our litigation matters cost about $5,000 to get started, plus the monthly amount and costs such as expert witnesses or filing fees. If you are already facing a trial, arbitration or mediation, the first payment can be higher.
Is my property dispute big enough to justify a lawsuit?
If you are fighting over ownership, a right in real estate or a boundary, or if more than about $100,000 is at stake, usually yes. If your real damages are between $20,000 and $60,000, often not. Lawyers call that range no man's land: too much for small claims, too little to justify $20,000 to $30,000 of litigation.
What should I ask a real estate lawyer before I hire them?
Start with this: do you try cases yourselves, or do you refer them out? Then ask how much of the firm's work is real estate litigation, whether they represent individuals rather than investors and banks, how they charge, and how long they expect your case to take.
What happens in a first consultation with a real estate or probate litigation attorney, and what should I bring?
You speak with our intake team first. If your matter fits, we schedule a free 30-minute conversation with an attorney. Mostly we listen to your side of the story and ask a lot of questions. Document review starts after you retain us, and you need almost nothing for the consultation. Have the trust or will handy if that is the dispute, and a map if it is an easement or boundary, and Google Maps is usually good enough. We can look up title and deeds during the consultation.
My property is in Riverside County or the Inland Empire. Can a lawyer in Ontario handle my dispute, and which courthouse hears it?
Yes. We appear in courts across Southern California, and most litigation appearances now happen remotely on a video call. From our Ontario office we also appear in person in San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, Kern, Inyo and San Diego counties, among others. The case is filed in the county where the property sits.