Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Greedy Mother

I agree with both Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Whipple's responses. Her threat of a lawsuit seems bogus in California. I write only to note that in the eyes of a probate court, an intervivos gift is deemed to be irrevocable, and a probate court would be more concerned with issues of ademption by satisfaction, counting the substantial gift of $85,000 against any inheritance you expected.

This does not mean that she will not file a bogus lawsuit against you. People file lawsuits all the time, as pointed out by Mr. Hoffman. The important thing is to seek immediate legal counsel once you receive a lawsuit.

Very truly yours,

Re: Greedy Mother

Anyone can sue you for anything. All it takes is a complaint and filing fee paid to the court. Wheteher a lawsuit will be successful is something entirely different. While I know nothing about the law in Japan, in California (a community property state), your mother may have some claim if she can trace the money given to you by your father to community funds, regardless of whether your father gifted the money to you or not.

If you have been served with a summons and complaint, you need to take it to an attorney in your area and have it reviewed so that you can discuss the facts and obtain competent advice about your options. In California, after being served with a summons and complaint, one generally has 30 days within which to properly respond. YOU MUST PROPERLY RESPOND OR YOU WILL LOSE SIGNIFICANT LEGAL RIGHTS, including your right to participate in the lawsuit.

Re: Greedy Mother

I agree completely with Mr. Hoffman.

I would add that several factors here tend to suggest that your mother might not have a valid claim based on the $85,000 being an impermissible gift of community funds by one spouse in violation of Family Code section 1100(b).

First, "community property" is property acquired by either spouse while married and domiciled in California. If this couple has lived in Japan pretty much continuously since marriage, they probably don't have community property and never did.

There is also a category called "quasi-community property" which would include property acquired during marriage but while domiciled elsewhere, but Family Code section 1100(b) (the anti-unilateral-gift law) doesn't seem to apply to quasi-community property.

Second, even if your mother and stepfather lived in California, there is a very good possibility that the money give you would be traceable to his separate property, especially as it seems that he was relatively well-to-do and the couple may have married only a short time before the gift was made.

Finally, an argument could be made that the gift was "mutually given by both spouses," thus taking it out of the prohibition on unilateral gifts of community property. Even though only your stepfather's name appears on the transfer documents, it could be argued that your mother was presumptively a willing co-participant in the gift because, well, after all, she is your mother! In many legal contexts, money given by a parent to a child is presumed to be a gift, subject to possible rebuttal by evidence showing that it was something else, such as a loan, or given to the child to invest as agent of the parent, etc.

If you are in Northern California, I would be pleased to give you further free consultation, if you wish.