Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Is signature required in closing escrow for a prisoner who is on title

A Lawsuit for partition and accounting should be filed. Please call me if you need further assitance.

Re: Is signature required in closing escrow for a prisoner who is on title

If you cannot get the signature fo the co-owner that is in prison, your only other option would be to file a lawsuit call a partition action.

If successful, you could get a judgment ordering the sale of the property. If the owner in prison still refused to sign, the court court appoint an "elisor" to sign on the other owner's behalf.

Conult a local real estate attorney for more details about the procedure and cost.

Re: Is signature required in closing escrow for a prisoner who is on title

It isn't completely clear whether your problem results from difficulty in communicating with the prisoner, or the prisoner's unwillingness to sell, at least on the terms being offered.

If it's a communication problem, be sure you understand and follow the institution's policies with respect to written communications to and from this particular prisoner.

If it is simply a matter that the prisoner doesn't want to sell on the terms being offered, there is no law or procedure allowing you to force a forfeiture or sale other than the right any cotenant has to compel sale of joint tenancy or tenancy-in-common property through a special kind of lawsuit called a partition action.

In a typical partition action, the court will order the property sold under court supervision by ordinary commercial means (through a broker, not a courthouse-steps auction) and the net proceeds (after paying liens and costs of sale) will be divided in a proportion, often 50-50 but not necessarily, between the former co-owners.

Many times when a partition suit is brought, the other party will see the handwriting on the wall and will negotiate for an out-of-court deal such as a buy-out.