Re: In-laws bought house for us to fix up!

Some further facts would be helpful. I assume none of this is in writing, that the Fla. house is in your names but heavily financed, and the CA house is in your in-laws' names.

The particulars on the source of the down-payment money could be important - did the in-laws provide all of it, or did some of it come from your Fla. equity or other sources that were yours rather than theirs?

Do you plan to divorce your husband? The remedies may be different in a dissolution of marriage than in an ordinary civil suit.

Who has been making the payments on the two houses?

Is this something you can discuss with your in-laws, or are they taking his side, or are they taking their own side and disclaiming both of you as owners or part owners of the Cal. house?

Is this something you can discuss with your husband, or is he lined up against you and denying your interest? (if he isn't now, he may later.)

This situation sounds as though it may be amenable to a fraud action of some kind; the theory of purchase-money resulting trust doesn't seem to fit, and with no written agreement most real-property theories don't fit either. However, it may be possible to get around the must-be-in-writing theory on the ground of part performance. It looks like a tough lawsuit.

Re: In-laws bought house for us to fix up!

First of all, you need to act fast before the property is sold. You can file suit and record a lis pendens against the property. A lis pendens has the effect of clouding title rendering the property essentially unmarketable until resolution of your case.

The fact that you put in $75k in upgrades to the house reveals that there was an agreement in place. The installation of upgrades was certainly part performance. It may even be full performance entitling you to sue for specific performance (for a court order directing transfer of the property to you and your husband). The main issue here is whether you can seek specific performance of a gift. Were the parents going to sell or give you the property?

It seems that at the very least, you should be able to recover a portion (perhaps half) of the $75k spent on upgrades. We, as lawyers, may be able to successfully negotiate a settlement for you without filing a lawsuit.

Give us a call to discuss this further. We handle several real estate cases like this in California. The call is free.