Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Home ownership dispute

This can be a complicated subject, and the best I can do in a LawGuru reply is scratch the surface. My answer, even so, exceeds LawGuru's 3000 character maximum, so I'll post it in two halves to get around the limit.

First, you need to find out exactly what the public records disclose, and figure out what those facts might mean, or point toward. You start off by saying there are "three persons listed as registered owners" which may just be your way of expressing the current situation as you understand it, but owners of real estate are not usually thought of as being "registered." This sounds like DMV talk in a motor vehicle cotext. Owners or co-owners of real property are usually talked about as being "on title," or less accurately, "on the deed." The official records are maintained by the County Recorder, and the records are searchable by Assessor parcel Number, which in turn is usually shown on deeds, tax bills, etc. in the general format "APN XXX-XXX-XXX" although sometimes there are more or less digits. The records are also searchable by grantor and grantee names. Learning to search County Recorder records reasonably well might take a beginner an hour or so, hopefully assisted by a clerk in the Recorder's office if you go there at a time when they aren't too busy. The very oldest records are handwritten in bound volumes; the most recent are computer searchable; and in between, there are microfiche and reel-to-reel microfilm records. You may not need to go back more than a decade to find what you need.

The records will NOT contain any flat statement such as "John Doe owns 123 Main Street." Tax rolls contain information like that, showing who is the current assessee - but all you'll find at the Recorder's office are copies of deeds, mortgages, tax liens, etc. that, if you go back far enough and understand what each means, will allow you, perhaps, to get an idea who owns the property now.

Re: Home ownership dispute

(second half of my answer)

OK, that's a starting point. One of many possibilities is that the records will show that the three persons, X, Y and Z are the owners of record. Your next problem would then be to figure out what became of X's ownership when he died. If perchance he was a joint tenant with Y, or possibly with Y and Z, his interest disappeared with the result that the surviving joint tenants own the disappeared interest. If, as is perhaps more likely, X was a tenant in common, his interest went to his heirs, and you'll need to figure out who they were - look for a probate proceeding via the clerk of the probate department at the local courthouse.

Finally, "record title" or "legal title" as it is sometimes called is not always the same as equitable (or "beneficial") title. Factors not shown on the record may give someone an interest, which could be established in a court proceeding. These provisions of law exist to protect parties from fraud, mistake, failure to record documents, and other oddball situations.

Paying the mortgage will probably not affect ownership, but might give rise to a right to be reimbursed from the person or persons who do own the property.

Before even discussing remedies like quiet title or partition, one or both disputing parties should arrange a title search, preferably by a title company that would be prepared to issue insurance based on their findings, and an interview with a real-estate lawyer who is familar with probate issues, title disputes, resulting trusts and the like.

Re: Home ownership dispute

It depends how legal title is held. If as joint tenants, the remaining owners each own 1/2. If as tenants in common or tenants in partnership, or simply listed in their names, then 1/3 of the property is owned by the estate of the decedent. The other two own 1/3 each.