Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Here are the answers to each of your questions, with some additional comments:

1. In a partition, you should receive 100% of the net proceeds of sale (after commissions, court costs, fees, etc.) if you can prove the facts given in your question to the satisfaction of the judge. If thre were ever any financing and your partner contributed to the payments, that would reduce your share to some extent. It is also possible that your partner paid taxes, repairs or insurance or made improvements, and these costs might figure into the calculation, reducing you below 100% of the net proceeds.

2. You would not be deemed to have a putative marriage, nor to be common-law spouses. See, e.g., California Family Code section 2251 which defines a putative spouse as someone who believed he/she was married, but the marriage turns out to be void or voidable. Here, it seems reasonably clear (and easy to prove) that neither of you believed you were married, e.g., the deed describing you as single persons.

3. Residency in California should not affect the outcome of the case. The jurisdiction and venue for the partition action would be (based on Zip 93546) the Superior Court of California and venue in the County of Mono. Although the county seat is Bridgeport, there is a major branch courthouse at Mammoth Lakes, and it appears that's where the case should be filed. See California Code of Civil Procedure sections 872.110(a) and (b)(1).

My experience with partition cases is that they settle before the full court process, either by agreement on all matters or agreement on some limited set of facts and referral of the remaining questions to binding arbitration.

Although my office is in Marin County, I'd be willing to file and prosecute a partition action for you at a reasonable hourly rate and no charge for time or expense traveling to or from Mono County (or wherever) if or when necessary. Please contact me directly if you'd like a proposal.