Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
My Mother and Father quit claim deeded their paid for land to their friends when possibly facing a bankrupsy back in 1998. The friends signed the deed and had it notarized. Since my Mother has deceased and Father is trying to obtain financial assistance for long term care and will be disqualified for approval as long as he has assets. Is the 1998 Quit Claim Deed valid and legal without ever being filed in State of CA? Question #2 If not valid if not filed, then can it be filed now via the Grantee and then may Grantee turn around and file a new Quit Claim Deed and transfer to another individual immediately? and would there exist a paper trail or evidence that this occured ? Thank you so much in advance for answering my questions, I appreciate it GREATLY !!! :) and one more thing.. the deed has both parents names on it and my Mother was the only one who signed, is it valid?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Your parents have created a really serious mess that is not going to be resolved in an internet Question and Answer. If not for the bankruptcy, your father could now sign the quit claim deed and the grantee's could record it and become record owners. But since the transfer was not completed, the property remained part of the bankruptcy estate, and if it was not scheduled as an asset you have a bankruptcy fraud problem. And it just gets worse and more complicated from there. In addition, you can't just give away your assets and then apply for government financial assistance. You really think the government is that stupid. If you disclose the transfer, they will deny the aid. If you lie about it, and they find out, the government can reverse the transfer AND collect reimbursement from the recipient of the aid AND in extreme cases file criminal charges as well. Your father needs to quit trying to game the system and talk to a qualified elder law attorney to come up with a LEGAL plan that maximizes his options for public aid while minimizing the assets he will have to burn through.
I agree with Mr. McCormick.
A deed signed by only one party is only valid as to that one party's interest, unless there is a recorded power of attorney. A deed does not have to be recorded to be valid, it must only be delivered. Recording is a way of proving delivery, by way of presumption.
There are a lot of issues in your post, so an attorney needs to be consulted.
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