Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Remove forged doc frm LA county reccorder

I agree with Mr. Whipple. When a document is recorded, the recorded instrument remains a part of the County Recorder's Office for eternity. If you had to file a lawsuit, you would have to have the court issue a decree cancelling the forged deed.

If the grantee is willing, as you state in your post, the easiest method to restore title to your name is to simply have the grantee deed the property back to you.

Very truly yours,

Re: Remove forged doc frm LA county reccorder

You need to quiet title and cancel the instrument/deed. You also might want to sue the escrow company for their fraud and negligence. I handle these types of cases, give me a call.

Re: Remove forged doc frm LA county reccorder

What you would need to do is file a lawsuit for declaratory relief. The problem you have is that the deed, as recorded, is deemed valid. It is public record, and to "fix" it, you need to file a suit to seek a decree from the court that the deed is invalid.

We are real estate litigators with extensive experience with title issues. Please feel free to call or email for a no charge consult.

***No Legal Services or Attorney Client Relationship - Although this email may provide information concerning potential legal issues, it is not a substitute for legal advice from qualified counsel. You should not and are not authorized to rely on this email as a source of legal advice. Until a formal Retainer Agreement is executed, any communication between you and The Guerrini Law Firm cannot create any attorney-client relationship between you and The Guerrini Law Firm.***

Re: Remove forged doc frm LA county reccorder

I think it would take a court order to have a record physically expunged from the official records. By far the easiest way to handle this is to prepare, notarize and record a deed going the other way, i.e. if the forged deed was from X to Y, then record a second deed reconveying from Y to X. Get a lawyer's help in drafting it and make sure the transactions don't trigger a reassessment or a capital gain - in other words, make sure the assessor knows what happenedand agrees with what you're doing.