Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

You won't get a law school education here, or anywhere else, by Tuesday. If your house is on the block, better see a bankruptcy lawyer to stop the sale, or come Friday you'll be a renter.

I agree with Mr. Stone that your best bet may be to seek an automatic stay through a bankruptcy filing. In glancing at your proposed memorandum, another problem pops up - the doctrine of "after-acquired title." This is explained in Wikipedia as follows:The After Acquired Title Doctrine is a legal doctrine under which, if a grantor conveys what is mistakenly believed to be good title to land that he or she did not own, and the grantor later acquires that title, it vests automatically in the grantee. A practical example is Husband and Wife own Blackacre. Wife is awarded the property through a divorce decree. Wife sells the property to a bonafide purchaser for value. Wife executes a Warranty Deed to the purchaser and the deed is properly recorded. Subsequently, a deed from the Husband to the Wife is recorded. Under the After Acquired Title Doctrine, the interest received by the wife automatically transfers to the new purchaser.

Mr. Whipple is dead right about after acquired title. It is a legal principal that actually does make time travel possible for land titles. If I deed land to you that I don't own, but I later get title to it, the title then automatically runs back in time to the deed I gave you and passes to you effective back then.

The doctrine of after acquired title is also known as estoppel by deed. "Title acquired by the mortgagor subsequent to the execution of the mortgage, inures to the mortgagee as security for the debt in like manner as if acquired before the execution." (Civil Code, sect. 2930.)

This doctrine has been applied to deeds of trust. (See Perego v. Seltzer (1st Dist. 1968) 260 Cal.App.2d 825.)

I did not see this question earlier. I am wondering what the results of the last minute hearing were?