Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: property partition in CA (part 2)

You do have an interesting scenario.

Yes, you can file a partition action. Cost could be $4K to $10K, depending on what they do. They are responsible to you, legally, for half the maintenance of the property, as well as being entitled to one half the rental income. If the brother and sister are not paying rent, you may be entitled to evict them, and bring in paying renters to help out.

Bottom line is, it probably won't get any better.

Re: property partition in CA (part 2)

A partition action would have to be filed. Sometimes, upon filing such an action, the case is settled. We represent parties all over California and could assist you and answer any other questions that you might have.

Re: property partition in CA (part 2)

Who is collecting the rent from the brother and sister who are living there? If you are in financial difficulty, I think part of your strategy should be to collect all the rent. You are entitled to half of the net rent, after the rental expenses are paid. I'm not sure whether you could remove non-paying residents by an unlawful detainer action, but this may be worth considering as part of an overall strategy.

A partition is a form of lawsuit. With the prospective defendants living in Indonesia, you have both a problem and a help. The problem is that it will be somewhat more difficult to serve them with the summons and complaint. It is by no means impossible, however; in some instances the service can be accomplished by publication.

The benefit is that defending from abroad will be more costly and time-consuming for them, and this will add to the pressure to settle short of a full court trial on the matter.

There are many additional facts I would need to analyze the situation fully, such as when the mortgage was incurred and by whom, and whether your joint tenancy interest is one-half or 1/3.

I don't recall whether I answered your question when first posted; if I did, I probably said that the cost (and duration) of a partition action is highly variable because so many are settled by negotiation after filing but before trial and an ensuing court-ordered sale.

It is important to know how much equity there is in the house, i.e. how much can be recovered from sale vs. the possible legal and other costs.

The minor child raises additional questions.

All in all, I think you would be better off in the long run retaining a lawyer to analyze the situation and take whatever actions are most likely to produce a solution.