Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Well, first of all hot rod cars are not "real estate and real property," they are personal property, but I'll take a shot at answering under this topic heading.

The first issue that come to mind, if you took this matter to court, is whether your cousin would have a defense based on some statute of limitations, or the equitable doctrine of laches (which you can study on Google, but basically it means that if you sit on your rights for years and years, you may lose them).

The second issue is what is the standard of proof the judge will expect from you? Most civil cases are decided on a so-called "preponderance of the evidence" standard, which means if 49% of the evidence says I'm right, and 51% says you're right, you'll win. As you know, criminal convictions have a very high standard of proof, "beyond a reasonable doubt." There is an in-between standard, used in some civil matters, called "clear and convincing" evidence. I have a hunch that in order to get yourself placed on DMV title by a court, you'll need clear and convincing evidence that (A) you notonly split the costs 50-50, but also (B) that it was intended that you be a half owner. If you can prove (A) but not (B), you would probably be entitled to reimbursement of your money, but not ownership (and I'm kinda guessing about this).

Whether it is worth going to court would depend not only on an evaluation of the probability of winning, but also on the value of a half interest in a car with someone you've just sued. This is probably not a matter that's within a small-claims court's jurisdiction to decide.

Your question asks "How do I prove........" I haven't really addressed that yet. I think you need to show the trier of fact (judge or jury) substantial evidence that there was a 50-50 deal from the outset; that you indeed paid around 50% of the expenses and/or contributed about equally to the labor; and the most important part, that it was intended that you be equal owners on the title, but by some accident, trickery, misfortune, etc. that didn't happen. Evidence in writing is much more convincing than oral testimony, especially the testimony of a party.

14 years ago? It's kind of late now.