Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
estates of inheritance
california civil code 765 says in part,''estates of inheritance are called estates of freehold and are not subject to the enforcement of a money judgment''.
question:dose this mean what it says?if i had a money judgment against me,no one has any right to go after the inheritance to me as sole aire for example? also how is a money judgment ''certified'' to make it valid?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: estates of inheritance
You misread the statute. Semicolons are very important. Here's the full statute: "Estates of inheritance and for life are called estates of freehold; estates for years are chattels real; and estates at will are chattel interests, but are not subject to enforcement of a money judgment." In essence, if you are leasing property, then a judgment cannot attach to the property because the lease actually is personalty as far as your interest would go, and not real estate. You would have no ownership interest in the real estate. There's no limitation -- at least according to these definitions -- on obtaining a judgment and levying upon real property inherited from another.