Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Right of Property
Hello,
My great grandmother purchased a home and paid the mortgage in full over 30 years ago. Her son (1 of 6 of her children) resided in the home with his wife and children until he died. So now she is dead and her son has died. It is believed that at one point she had the deed to her house transferred in the sons name but then after discovering that he had a drug problem quickly reversed the transfer and put it back in her own name or the name of her daughter. Now the wife of the deceased son has lived in this house rent free with her children for over 30 years, except for paying the property taxes. Now the wife of the deceased son is now trying to sell the house. Before dying my great grandmother left the deed to the house with her daughter (my grandmother) who is the sole survivor out of the 6 children of my great grandmothers. My grandmother has held the deed for many years and wants to know does she have any rights to her mother�s house. Who has legal rights to this property?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Right of Property
The chain of title is going to have to be examined to resolve this issue. If your great grandmother had title transferred back to her name, then the wife of the deceased son has no rights. If the wife has not been paying taxes, she cannot claim by adverse possession in California. If your great grandmother deeded the house to your grandmother, as you say, and your great grandmother had title, then your grandmother has title. Some of this depends on the recording acts, and whether some deeds were recorded or not. I would need more detail to provide you a definitive answer.
Very truly yours,
Re: Right of Property
Mr. Roach covered this very well. This is a California question because the property (apparently) is located there.
Somebody is going to have to formally examine the title and see what the result is. A quiet title action may be necessary.
The wife of the deceased son cannot sell the property if she is not the owner.
Was your great-grandmother's estate ever probated?
I have done a case similar to this in WA, but CA rules could be very different.
Hope this helps. Powell
Re: Right of Property
I would say that the widow who has lived in the house for 30 years and has paid the property taxes is the owner due to adverse possession, and that she is entitled to file a quiet title suit to have legal title placed in her name, without regard to what may now appear on the public record. If someone other than the widow holds legal title by virtue of a recorded deed, the quiet title action will extinguish that someone's legal title.
I know this isn't good news for your grandmother, and I cannot be certain that she has no defense to a possible quiet title action by the widow, so it may be wise to have a local real estate attorney review all the facts in a personal interview. By local, I mean an attorney who practices in the county where the house is situated. Obtaining title by adverse possession has technical requirements, and the widow would need to meet all of them in order to prevail over the holder of record title.
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