Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

This is something an attorney would have to review. It is not clear where the title was during the lawsuit, and the lawsuit will have an affect on the right of her estate to recover. There are a lot of issues that an experienced competent real estate attorney would need to analyze before giving you a definite answer.

There seem to be three possibilities here: (1) mom was forgetful; (2) mom didn't appreciate the impact of deeding away ownership; or (3) someone has committed forgery.

I'd start researching this matter by doing four things: (a) Find the notary public who notarized the earlier deed to check his/her notarial records to verify the signature; (b) Go to the recorder's office and examine the deeds on file, particularly the apparent authenticity of the signatures; (c) interview the neice to get her side of the story; and (d) research the case dropped by the lawyer five years ago to find out exactly what was alleged, whether there was evidence of fraud, whether an answer was filed, etc.

After completing this research, I'd have a better idea of what happened.....but my hunch is that it's either #1 or #2 (above), and that your neice is the owner and has the right to sell. Nevertheless, anything is possible, and the research needs to be done. Hopefully, after five years it would still be possible to find the notary and the lawyer....but not essential.

Please feel free to contact me if you'd like to discuss representation.

No one can answer that without full review of all the documents, and consulting with you to discuss your rights, remedies, problem issues, and cost of fighting this. If serious about doing that, feel free to contact me.