Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I was given a gift deed by my boyfriend at the time. He signed it and gave it to me . I know he holds ownership and we lived in the home together for a few years. We have since broken up. We had a legal settlement and in the settlement it states that the gift deed remains in place as is. (Signed but not notorized) . I have the original signed copy as well as an email version sent by him at the time he gave it to me and an email from his lawyer stating it is in place. Is there any chance that it will not be honored because it was not notorized at the time? I doubt he would want to notorized it now since we have broken up and the home is going to be sold soon and the 50% of the profit of the sale would be a substantial amount. Will this hold any weight? Or did they purposely leave it 'as is' so that it would not be recognized because it is not notorized? Thank you!!


Asked on 4/26/13, 6:54 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

It is essentially worthless without being notarized and recorded.

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Answered on 4/26/13, 7:07 pm
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

If the deed were delivered to you in accordance with a court judgment, Government Code section 27326 requires county recorders to file and record certified copies of final judgments, and could be a way to get the facts relating to your deed on the record.

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Answered on 4/27/13, 2:32 pm


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