Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I assume the California house is in the grandparents' names. I also assume you are talking about the paternal grandparents, and that you are now separated from your children's father. If any of these assumptions is incorrect, it could throw off my reasoning.

My first reaction to the facts given and the facts I'm assuming to fill in the gaps is that you are in a difficult legal position with respect to asserting and enforcing your claim to $70,000 of equity in the California house. This is because contracts respecting interests in real property are supposed to be in writing, and also because there is a rebuttable presumption concering the accuracy of recorded title.

However, I wouldn't say the situation is hopeless at all. You aren't without a paper trail, and it may in itself be sufficient to prove your claim based on a completed gift (in Florida) with the funds traceable to a re-investment in the California property.

Failing that, there are some cases holding that reasonable reliance upon a promise of ownership may be sufficient to overcome lack of a written deed. Among these is Monarco v. LoGreco, decided by the California Supreme Court back in 1950 and published at 35 Cal.2nd 621.

Further, if the initial purchase of the California house was made using your $70,000 as part of the down payment, you might be entitled to equitable title in the house in proportion to your contibution. For example, if it were bought for $210,000 cash, of which $70,000 was traceable to your gift, you might be able to assert that you own 70/210ths or 1/3 of the house at its current market value, which ten years later now might be more like $350,000 than $210,000. This result would flow from asserting that what is called a "purchase-money resulting trust" arose when you applied your money to the down payment but did not receive a comparable share of record title.

If this had to go to court, I think the result will ultimately depend upon the quality and completeness of evidence you can assemble, which would primarily be the papers generated in the course of doing the Florida and California transactions, supplemented by family correspondence and maybe the testimony of witnesses. You are better off achieving a fair out-of-court settlement (might be good for the kids' inheritances!) but if need be, you may be able to present a strong case for the $70K, or more.

Please keep my contact information handy, should you need legal representation; all the issues raised here fall within my areas of experience and specialization.