Insights
Notes on California property and estate law
36 articles by the firm, grouped by subject. Every one names the statute or the decision it relies on.
6 articles
Title, Deeds and Ownership
How California records ownership, what clouds a title, and what it takes to clear one.
Quiet Title Actions in California
A quiet title action asks a court to decide who owns a property and on what terms. When you need one, what it takes to win, and why nobody wins by default.
5 min readCan My Neighbor Take My Land by Adverse Possession?
Occupying land does not make it yours. California requires five years of possession and payment of the property taxes, which defeats most claims.
3 min readSomeone Forged a Deed to My Property. What Now?
A forged deed transfers nothing, but it still sits in the record and still stops your sale. What to do first when one appears on your property.
3 min readLegal Title, Equitable Title, and Who Can Sue
The distinction decides who has standing to bring a quiet title action in California. If you hold only the equitable interest, the case may not be yours to file.
3 min readTypes of Deed Used in California
Grant deed, quitclaim, warranty. The deed you receive decides what the seller has promised you about the title, and the difference matters when something goes wrong.
4 min readWhat a Cloud on Title Is and How It Clears
A title search has turned up something and your sale is stuck. The common defects on California property, which ones stop a closing, and what it takes to clear each.
4 min read8 articles
Boundaries, Fences and Easements
Where the line actually falls, who may cross it, and how long use hardens into a right.
How Are Neighbor Boundary Disputes Resolved in California?
Where the line falls is a question of record, not memory. How California boundary disputes are proved, and what a long-standing fence really settles.
4 min readEasements in California
An easement is a right to use land you do not own. How each kind arises in California, and what the owner of the burdened land can still do.
4 min readBoundary Fences and Spite Fences
California presumes neighbors share the cost of a dividing fence and requires 30 days' written notice first. A malicious fence over 10 feet is a nuisance.
5 min readMetes and Bounds Descriptions in California
A metes and bounds description traces a boundary by bearings and distances between monuments. How to read one, and why two can describe the same land differently.
3 min readPrescriptive Easements in California
Five years of open use without permission can create a right to keep using someone else's land, with no requirement to have paid the taxes on it.
3 min readSpite Fences in California
A fence built purely to annoy a neighbor can be a private nuisance. Civil Code section 841.4 sets the test, and each of its elements defeats most complaints.
2 min readWhat Is an Agreed Boundary Line in California?
Neighbors can set an agreed boundary line only when the true line is uncertain and they actually agree on it. A fence both sides lived with is not enough.
3 min readMy Neighbor's Fence or Driveway Is on My Land. What Now?
California courts do not automatically order an encroachment removed. They weigh the hardship of removal against the harm of leaving it in place.
3 min read3 articles
Co-Ownership and Partition
What happens when more than one person owns the property and they cannot agree.
Can I Force the Sale of a House I Co-Own in California?
The 2023 California partition buyout process for qualifying tenancies in common without a recorded agreement, in actions filed on or after January 1, 2023.
5 min readCan I Buy Out a Co-Owner Instead of Forcing a Sale?
California's partition buyout process for qualifying tenancies in common without a recorded partition agreement, in actions filed on or after January 1, 2023.
3 min readHow Co-Owned Property Is Held in California
Joint tenancy, tenancy in common, community property. The vesting on your deed decides what happens on death and what each owner can sell.
4 min read6 articles
Buying, Selling and Disclosure
The contract, the contingencies, the escrow, and what a seller is required to tell you.
Seller Didn't Disclose a Defect? Your Rights in California
California sellers must disclose known material facts. What the Transfer Disclosure Statement covers, and what a buyer does on finding a defect.
5 min readConstruction Defects in New California Homes
The Right to Repair Act sets standards for new residential construction and a pre-litigation procedure. Missing that step stalls a claim before it starts.
3 min readContingencies in a California Purchase Agreement
A contingency is a condition that must be met before a sale binds. How each works, how they are removed in writing, and when the deposit is at risk.
3 min readLos Angeles Measure ULA Transfer Tax
Measure ULA adds a transfer tax to higher-value real estate transfers in the City of Los Angeles. These are the current thresholds, rates and closing issues.
2 min readRemedies When a Purchase Agreement Fails
The remedy depends on which side you are on. Specific performance compels the sale, damages compensate. Which is available is a separate question.
3 min readWhat an As-Is Clause Does and Does Not Do
An as-is clause shifts the risk of discoverable conditions to the buyer. It does not license concealment, and it does not displace the statutory disclosure duty.
3 min read5 articles
Foreclosure, Default and Debt
The nonjudicial foreclosure process in California and the protections that surround it.
The California Nonjudicial Foreclosure Process
Most California foreclosures happen without a court. The notice of default, the notice of sale, the timeline, and where a homeowner can still act.
4 min readBankruptcy and a California Foreclosure
A bankruptcy filing stops a foreclosure sale immediately through the automatic stay. Whether it keeps the house is a different question, and the stay can be lifted.
3 min readDeed of Trust vs Mortgage in California
California lenders take a deed of trust, not a mortgage. The difference decides how fast a lender can foreclose and what you owe afterwards.
3 min readOptions When a California Foreclosure Has Started
California foreclosure options and Civil Code 2944.7's advance-compensation rule for modification or forbearance work on homes with four or fewer units.
3 min readThe One-Action Rule and Anti-Deficiency Rules
Three rules decide whether a lender can pursue you personally after a foreclosure. Which applies depends on the loan, the property and the method.
4 min read4 articles
Estates, Trusts and Probate
Planning ahead, and what happens to real property when someone dies.
Probate Litigation Over California Real Property
California title disputes and trust contests, including Probate Code 16061.8's later of 120 days after notice or 60 days after trust delivery.
5 min readPowers of Attorney and California Real Property
A power of attorney decides who can act on your property if you cannot. Without one the alternative is a conservatorship, which is slower and public.
3 min readProposition 19 and Inherited California Property
Since February 2021 a child inheriting a parent's home keeps the low tax base only by making it their principal residence, and only up to a limit.
4 min readShould the House Be in a Trust?
A revocable trust keeps California property out of probate, but only if the house was actually transferred into it. The unfunded trust is the common failure.
3 min read2 articles
Business, Entities and Liability
Holding property in an entity, and where that protection stops.
Holding California Real Estate in an LLC
An LLC can separate investment property from personal assets, but only if it is run as a real entity. Formation is not the part that protects you.
4 min readWhen an LLC Stops Protecting You
California courts will disregard an entity where the owner treated it as an extension of themselves and respecting it would be unjust.
3 min read2 articles
Resolving a Dispute
Mediation, arbitration and litigation, and how to tell which one you are actually in.
Mediation, Arbitration or a Lawsuit for a Property Dispute?
Most California purchase agreements require mediation first, and your right to recover attorney fees can depend on it. How the three processes differ.
4 min readMechanics Liens on California Property
A recorded lien clouds title whether or not the claim is good. Why suing over the recording can backfire under California's anti-SLAPP statute.
4 min read