Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Hello, I own a property as Tenants in Common in Kern County with my deceased cousin. He died in Texas a few years ago, and my other Cousin was the Beneficiary. He said this property was not included. He thinks I can have a Quit Claim made and he could sign it off to me as the beneficiary. Question: would this work and what other type of documentation is needed...not sure how the Quit Claim would be filled out in this case either. Hope you can help...I just want to get rid of the property at this point. Thank you, David


Asked on 7/15/22, 4:29 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

The short answer is your cousin is not correct, but it should be possible to accomplish what you want to do.

This is a tricky situation, but one that can be solved with the right documentation. Unfortunately you haven't given enough information to suggest what documentation you would need. First off you need to know what the current state of title in Kern is. You say your cousin is the "Beneficiary," but don't say beneficiary of what. Did the deceased cousin have a trust that made the living cousin a beneficiary of the trust, or do you mean something else. Also if there was a trust, a beneficiary of the trust can't quitclaim trust property; only the trustee can (although in a deceased person's trust they are often the same person). You also say "this property was not included." Meaning it was never deeded into the trust? Bottom line is that this is not so much a problem as a puzzle. It's not too hard to solve with all the pieces, but impossible to solve without all of them.

Read more
Answered on 7/17/22, 1:57 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Real Estate and Real Property questions and answers in California