Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: If married are both signatures required?

First and foremost, my advice is never to sign a release without first obtaining advice from a lawyer representing you (or you and your husband) who has had the opportunity to review all the relevant documents and knows what the release and the forbearance are all about.

As to your specific question, it is hard to give an answer that is reliable in all circumstances. You don't say whether the forbearance is on a separate or community liability, for example; or whether the obligation is secured by real property, personal property or unsecured.

In at least some instances, the answer may lie in whether the right to sue that is being released is personal to one spouse, or whether the right is held jointly. There is an old case stating that the right of a wife to sue for personal injuries cannot be released by her husband signing a release. There is also law to the effect that, where a right to sue is held as community property, either spouse may relinquish that right as the agent of the other.

Finally, I'd say that extreme caution is warranted because the party pushing you to sign the release probably has a lot more experience in this area than I have, and presumably would not be dumb enough to trap themselves in a situation where they could still be sued for the full claim.

Therefore, the bottom line is, see a local lawyer who is very familiar with releases - maybe someone in a big firm that handles a lot of multi-party litigation - and get an answer that's specific to your situation.