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I am looking to add myself to a property deed in Fresno, California, alongside my mother. The deed also includes my late father, who passed away in 1997 without a will. We have not consulted any legal or real estate professionals about this, and my mother's other adult children are not... View More 
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answered on Mar 25, 2025
The easiest way is to have your mother add you on to the deed. For something like this, I would go to a service like Legal Zoom or a paralegal service that can draft documents cheaply for you.
On the other hand, if you mother decides that more complicated estate planning is necessary due... View More
I am looking to add myself to a property deed in Fresno, California, alongside my mother. The deed also includes my late father, who passed away in 1997 without a will. We have not consulted any legal or real estate professionals about this, and my mother's other adult children are not... View More
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answered on Mar 26, 2025
If your father's name is still on the title, then you need to hire a probate attorney to help you get your father's name removed from the title. The process does depend on exactly how title is held. It could be something as simple as an affidavit filed in the land records, or it might... View More
I am considering being added to my brother's home title and mortgage for a property located in Fremont, California. We plan to share financial responsibility for the mortgage equally (50-50). Will this trigger a gift tax for my brother? Additionally, are there any complications in getting this... View More
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answered on Mar 24, 2025
Yes, being added you to your brother's home title will likely trigger a gift tax for your brother, as it constitutes a transfer of property interest. The value of the gift will be based on the fair market value of the 50% interest in the property. If the value exceeds the annual exclusion... View More
I am administering my dad's estate in California and have IAEA authorization. I need to sell a single-family residence and a vehicle to pay off estate debts, which include a reverse mortgage requirement. The sale proceeds will cover the debts in full, and there are no other beneficiaries... View More
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answered on Mar 25, 2025
The clear answer is yes. However, you need to make sure that you document both the basis for the sale price and your choice of buyer when you sell the property, ultimately you owe a fiduciary duty to the estate and to maximize the value of any property in the estate.
Anytime you are... View More
I am the executor of my late father's estate in California and have recently received probate Letters with IAEA authorization. The beneficiaries have been verbally notified and have concurred with the sale of the estate assets including a vehicle and a house, although there is no will. The... View More
answered on Mar 12, 2025
Congratulations on being appointed administrator. With full IAEA authority, you can liquidate assets. You will need to send out a Notice of Proposed Action to all heirs when you accept an offer for the sale of the house. You will also need to set up an estate bank account, obtain an EIN number... View More
I am in the process of a divorce as my wife filed for it after leaving in August 2022. I was never served divorce papers but received a notice of default in November 2024. Since then, I have not taken any legal steps, and I recently attempted to look up the case online with the case number... View More
answered on Mar 9, 2025
You have no standing to do anything until that default is set aside. File the motion to set aside based on failure to serve. Get a copy of the proof and service of the summons first, however, and see what it says about when and how your spouse is claiming you were served.
I have a written agreement for a private easement that allows the owner of the adjacent property to use my driveway to access his garage. However, the tenant of the owner, not the owner himself, has been intermittently parking their car in my driveway almost daily over the past three years. Despite... View More
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answered on Feb 27, 2025
You will need a CA attorney to read your recorded easement. If personal only to the adjacent owner, then it might be actually a license where noone else could use it. But if an easement, owner's tenant probably has the right also. Litigation for a declaratory judgment and an injunction... View More
I jointly owned a home in California with someone who has passed away. I was notified six weeks after their death. Although I did not live in the home, I discovered someone moved in and caused damage to the property. The insurance adjuster confirmed that repairs are covered, and a check will be... View More
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answered on Feb 21, 2025
A probate attorney can first review the deed to determine whether you are now the sole owner of the home or a co-owner with the decedent’s estate. If you are a co-owner then a probate can be opened to get that share transferred to the decedent’s heirs. If no heirs come forward to run the... View More
My wife and I were married in our home country and later immigrated to the U.S. We've lived in California for about 10 years. Our marriage certificate includes a clause we did not sign, stating that if the divorce is not initiated by my wife, I must give her up to half of the assets I acquired... View More
answered on Feb 19, 2025
The laws of the tribunal (state, county or country) where you file for divorce will control. If you divorce in another country, a valid divorce there will be considered valid here in California without any additional filings.
My parents created a will with a lawyer ten years ago that included their house. They now want to move to a senior community and gift me the house so that I can live in it and stop paying rent. Do they need to update their will to reflect this change?
answered on Feb 13, 2025
Never gift away large assets!
This is all about your tax basis in the asset. The tax basis is the amount the IRS uses to figure out your profit when you sell, so they can tax the profit. Usually, this amount is the purchase price.
If you give someone an asset, you also give them... View More
In a California joint property with joint tenancy of a property purchased in 2015 and turned into a rental property in 2017. where the parties are permanently separated, and where one party has handled all the financial obligations related to the property, and now wants to buy the other party’s... View More
answered on Feb 7, 2025
With 50/50 ownership, each party would be entitled to 50% of the equity in the property less offset for any expenses paid solely by one of the owners. If the party who has handled all of the financial responsibilities also collected 100% of the rent, the division would likely settle back to... View More
Do both co-owners of a house have to sign the form for a homestead declaration in California?
answered on Feb 3, 2025
Both co-owners do not necessarily have to sign the homestead declaration.
If the co-owner is a spouse, only one spouse needs to sign.
If the co-owner is unrelated, you can protect your interest in the home as long as it is your primary residence.
In this case, you will... View More
The mortgage is over a hundred thousand dollars, I am not on the mortgage and I don’t qualify for a loan and neither does any of my family members, is there any hope of saving the house or must it be sold?
answered on Feb 2, 2025
More information is needed to properly answer your question. One thing to note is that all debts and taxes must be paid before real estate may be distributed to the beneficiary (assuming the real estate was solely in the deceased person’s name.) So, if someone passed away and left only $10,000 in... View More
The mortgage is over a hundred thousand dollars, I am not on the mortgage and I don’t qualify for a loan and neither does any of my family members, is there any hope of saving the house or must it be sold?
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answered on Feb 2, 2025
As long as you keep making the payments on time the lender cannot foreclose or call the loan due. You also are not obligated to assume the loan. This is federal law that applies if you are a family member of the deceased. If you were not related to the deceased then you might consider selling the... View More
Our deceased parents (died in 2015) California house is still in that trust and qualifies for Proposition 13 taxes rates. What happens to the property tax rates if we rent out the house, still owned by the trust?
answered on Jan 31, 2025
Everyone who buys real estate in qualifies for Proposition 13. There have been attacks on Prop. 13 ever since it was passed including a false claim that Prop. 13 only applies to people who bought homes in the 1970’s. That is NOT accurate. Everyone who buys real estate in California qualifies.... View More
That deed has been notarized and recorded. I found out my mail was being forwarded to a po box down the street. Furthermore, I looked at my credit report and it says I've been working at the Unified School Dist. I DO NOT WORK THERE. but I do have a family member that has been working there and... View More
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answered on Jan 28, 2025
Firstly, you can file an action to quiet title and cancel the forged deed. This type of action involves alleging ownership and possession of the property, stating that the deed is false, fraudulent, and forged, and requesting the court to cancel the deed and declare that the defendants have no... View More
I recently purchased a property in California and paid my earnest money deposit 10 days ago. However, I’ve since discovered that the house is located at a T-junction, which was not disclosed by the seller or their agent. There are no finance or loan contingencies in my contract(no contingency... View More
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answered on Jan 28, 2025
In California, a seller has a common law duty to disclose facts materially affecting the value or desirability of the property if those facts are not known to or within the reach of the diligent attention and observation of the buyer. This duty extends to the seller's agent as well.... View More
My father and aunt were named as getting his house. My dad has been living in it. He just passed recently himself and we are trying to figure out if my grandpas will needs to be filled, should be filled, and ultimately what happens to the house.
answered on Jan 22, 2025
What happens to the house depends on a few factors. First, the way in which the deed was drafted may have an effect on the ownership of the house. If any other individuals were listed as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as tenants in common, then the property may pass wholly or partly to... View More
their house (in CA) is in the trust. 2 years ago dad died and mom declared incompetent (dementia), at that time an estate plan lawyer did the trust certification that brother and I are now the succesor trustees-but (i think) our names werent put on the title yet, A refinancing was done last year to... View More
answered on Jan 13, 2025
The lawyer is right if neither your brother or you will move into the home and make it your primary residence. This resulted from a ballot initiative a few years ago that was called, in essence, the Home Protection for Severely Disabled, Elderly and Victims of Natural Disasters, otherwise known as... View More
50K Line of credit "called due" in 3 months; I originally had defaulted on it and they ended up just putting it on my home loan in my understanding was that whenever I sold the house or I died or whatever… That loan since it was attached to my house would be paid off at that time… It... View More
answered on Jan 4, 2025
Whether it can be called due depends on the written terms of the line of credit. Typically, if it is a deed of trust, it will have terms that allow it to be called due or accelerated and foreclosed. There are many alternatives to foreclosure including a loan modification, bankruptcy, sale of the... View More
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