Title: April 5, 2006
Q. I am one of six owners of a vacant lot. Five of the six are ready to sell. How should we proceed to make this happen?
A. If the sixth party is adamant not to sell his interest, you may need to file an action for partition. A partition is the division among several persons of lands that belong to them as co-owners, either by physically dividing the property into as many portions as there are shares to be distributed among the respective owners, or by selling the property and distribution the proceeds among the owners according to their interest. In the absence of a waiver, a tenant in common or joint tenants has an absolute right to sever his or her interests from those of the cotenants. Partition may be effected wither by voluntary agreement of the co-owners or by judgment in an action undertaken for that purpose. The object is to enable each party to obtain title to and use of some definite portion of the property in severalty. There is no transfer of title; rather, property to which the parties already have title is divided among them. Thus partition transforms the right to common possession of the entire parcel into a right of exclusive possession of some portion of the property held in severalty. Methods of partition are as follows: (1) physical division of the property (2) sale of the property and division of the proceeds (3) partition by appraisal under which any of the parties may acquire the interests of the others at their value as determined in a court-ordered appraisal.
Q. I put my son on the title to my house as joint tenant because I wanted my house to go to him when I die. He got into a car accident and had no insurance. The other driver obtained a judgment against my son because he caused the accident and I fear that a lien is being placed on my residence. What can I do?
A You can do nothing. Adding your children to the title has serious consequences, such as the one you find yourself in. Your son could have inherited the house through a Revocable Living Trust where title to the house transfers to your son at your death and not before. Children sometimes get into trouble and if they are on title, any of their creditors can lien your house, because they own it too. Let it be a lesson to you and remove your son from title as soon as possible, if he assents to it. If he does not want his name to be removed from title, you are stuck.
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 13 years of experience. She practices law from her Tehachapi office as well as her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers to the best of her abilities. Email your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax to (661)825-
Showing posts with label death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label death. Show all posts
Monday, March 23, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Legal Eaze #4 Plumbing Code/ Health Care/ Affidavit of Death
Originally Printed: August 4, 2004
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 12 years of experience. She moved to Tehachapi in June 2003 and resides in Alpine Forest. She operates her law practice from her home office and also has a satellite office in Lancaster. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers, to the best of her abilities.
Q. When I bought a house two years ago, the septic system was pumped, inspected and certified. I decided to sell it and I had to have it re-pumped, re-inspected and re-certified. I hired a different company but was informed that the septic tank was in violation of the Uniform Plumbing Code and its inspector refused to certify it, stating it would have to be moved before certifying it. Of course, I contacted the first company and after spending money for their industrial engineer, his report stated that despite the non-compliance, the structural integrity of the house was not affected. Nevertheless, I had to pay $4,700 to have a new septic tank installed in order to sell the house. Who is at fault?
A. The company that inspected and certified the septic system when you initially bought the house needs to stand behind their inspection and certification. The fact that you needed another pumping after only 18 months of use should have been a clue there was something wrong with the system. You may also look to the predecessor owner of that house for failure to disclose, especially if the system needed to be pumped more often than what is considered normal.
Q. My mother has Alzheimer’s and she can no longer take care of herself and her affairs. What can I do?
A. I hope you, or someone else, have Powers of Attorney for Health Care and Financial Decisions over her. If you do not have such powers, you must file a Petition to become her conservator, that is, you ask the Court’s permission to become the person responsible for making decisions about her health care and about her financial affairs. You cannot represent yourself in such a petition, you must be represented by an attorney.
Q. My father and I owned a house as joint tenants. He died three months ago and I want to sell the house. What must I do?
A. You need to file an Affidavit of Death with the county recorder so that title of the house will be transferred into your name alone. One of the advantages of owning property in joint tenancy is the right of survivorship, i.e. the property will be owned by the survivor. But you need to let the county recorder know that one of the joint tenants died.
Forward your questions by e-mail to maxinedev@msn.com or drop questions at the Tehachapi News, 411 N. Mill St., Tehachapi, or send them by mail to P.O. Box 1840, Tehachapi, CA 93581
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 12 years of experience. She moved to Tehachapi in June 2003 and resides in Alpine Forest. She operates her law practice from her home office and also has a satellite office in Lancaster. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers, to the best of her abilities.
Q. When I bought a house two years ago, the septic system was pumped, inspected and certified. I decided to sell it and I had to have it re-pumped, re-inspected and re-certified. I hired a different company but was informed that the septic tank was in violation of the Uniform Plumbing Code and its inspector refused to certify it, stating it would have to be moved before certifying it. Of course, I contacted the first company and after spending money for their industrial engineer, his report stated that despite the non-compliance, the structural integrity of the house was not affected. Nevertheless, I had to pay $4,700 to have a new septic tank installed in order to sell the house. Who is at fault?
A. The company that inspected and certified the septic system when you initially bought the house needs to stand behind their inspection and certification. The fact that you needed another pumping after only 18 months of use should have been a clue there was something wrong with the system. You may also look to the predecessor owner of that house for failure to disclose, especially if the system needed to be pumped more often than what is considered normal.
Q. My mother has Alzheimer’s and she can no longer take care of herself and her affairs. What can I do?
A. I hope you, or someone else, have Powers of Attorney for Health Care and Financial Decisions over her. If you do not have such powers, you must file a Petition to become her conservator, that is, you ask the Court’s permission to become the person responsible for making decisions about her health care and about her financial affairs. You cannot represent yourself in such a petition, you must be represented by an attorney.
Q. My father and I owned a house as joint tenants. He died three months ago and I want to sell the house. What must I do?
A. You need to file an Affidavit of Death with the county recorder so that title of the house will be transferred into your name alone. One of the advantages of owning property in joint tenancy is the right of survivorship, i.e. the property will be owned by the survivor. But you need to let the county recorder know that one of the joint tenants died.
Forward your questions by e-mail to maxinedev@msn.com or drop questions at the Tehachapi News, 411 N. Mill St., Tehachapi, or send them by mail to P.O. Box 1840, Tehachapi, CA 93581
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