Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: oral contract

Although the complete agreement does not need to be in writing, you must have some proof beyond your word or the verbal testimony of witnesses; did you have any writings with the sellers of the properties that indicated you were buying as a "partner"? Did you send any letters to your brotehr or receive any from him that indicate that what you are saying is true? Did you become obligated on any of the loans? If he is the one that put up all the money and he is the only one obligated on the loan, it is going to be difficult for you to prove that you were entitled to an equal split in return for simply locating the property without some writing that evidences that.

Re: oral contract

You can make a claim for constructive trust. It is a tough case, but your witnesses will give you some leverage. You may contact me.

Re: oral contract

Some agreements need to be in writing; others do not. Further, some arrangements between parties arise by legal inference and do not require an explicit agreement of the parties, written or oral.

A partnership is one of those. Under the current partnership law of California, a partnership arises whenever two or more persons associate to conduct an activity for profit, with an understanding that the profits and losses will be shared in some way. An agreement is implied from the facts.

Another example of a relationship that is created by presumption of law is the so-called purchase-money resulting trust. Whenever title to real estate is acquired by one person and another puts up the purchase price, or part of it, a legal presumption arises that the person acquiring title (or a disproportionate share of title) holds such title as trustee for the person who put up the purchase money (or a disproportionate share of it). The purchase money need not be cash; it can be services or anything else of value.

So, I think you have some law on your side that would give you a decent chance of prevailing in court. Your greatest problem would be proof of the facts supporting the existence of a partnership, etc.; ultimately, the amount of your recovery might depend upon the value of the services you provided rather than 50%, or if you got an award of 50% it might be subject to offsets for expenses paid by your brother.

A constructive trust, mentioned in another answer, is a remedy that a court might impose upon the property as a protective measure after determining that you had an interest therein, but first you must establish your claim to an interest in the property based upon it being a partnership asset and/or subject to a resulting trust reflecting your proportionate contribution to the purchase consideration.

Winning at all isn't going to be a slam dunk, but if you have good evidence and witnesses, and your story as a whole makes the judge sympathetic, there are legal theories under which you could get a judgment in your favor.

Re: oral contract

Agreements regarding real estate are required to be in writing. However, fraud is an exception to this rule. I believe you have the basis of a claim, but the question is what evidence you have to validate your position. If you have two friends and he has two friends and both say opposite things, it will be hard for a judge to sort out. Dig through your files and records and find any notes, papers or other physical evidence that will support your position.