Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: joint ownership

First, California doesn't recognize common-law marriages. Your co-ownership would be treated as one between business partners, not spouses.

Second, it is possible and usually legal for someone who owns a part interest in property to encumber (put up as collateral) their part interest. However, most sophisticated lenders will not make such loans, at least not on favorable terms, because part interests in real property make terrible collateral. If the lender has to foreclose, who would bid on a half interest, given that the other owner has a right of possession to the whole property? Maybe it was a private deal with a friend, maybe the loan was a small fraction of the value of his half interest, or maybe the interest rate is high - but usually such loans are not made without the consent (and co-signature) of the other owner.

Well, if it has happened, the question become one of how best to protect yourself. If he is planning to leave the country with the money as you suspect, he also probably has no intention of repaying the loan, or even making the payments.

Is this property where you live?

The first thing I would do, if I represented you, and after reviewing all the facts and figures carefully, is to file a declaration of homestead on the property (if it is your residence). Then, after getting some idea of the existing liens and the market value of the property, and after considering your long-term interests and desires, I'd probably file a lawsuit to partition the property - that is, I'd ask the court to order the property sold and the net proceeds divided fairly.

This will not keep your relaionship together nor will it necessarily prevent him from leaving the country, but is the quickest and surest way to get YOUR fair share of the value out of the property -

I would also advise you to take copies of all the papers, especially any that haven't been recorded, and give them to a trusted friend to keep for you. I have another case where the boyfriend left suddenly, and took all the girlfriend's records, deeds and paperwork, so she couldn't prove a thing. Fortunately, she had made copies and gave them to a friend to keep safe for her, just in case.

So, you have a clear method to keep from being defrauded of your part interest - and if you really wanted to keep the property, this same method (a partition suit) can be used as part of a strategy to buy out the other party. At this point, the value of his equity is low, due to his loan, so it shouldn't cost much.