Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Title to the property
After the decease of my father, with his estate, my mother acquired a house with her and my brother's names on the title of the house. She refused to put my name on the title of the house nor sell it. My questions are:
1) Is it possible to verify whether my mother's name is still on the title of the house?
2)by law, am I entitled to part of the property or proceeds of the sale of the house? The house was acquired with my father's estate.
Thank you very much.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Title to the property
The information you supply is neither complete nor clear enough. If I am understanding it correctly,the house was part of your father's estate. If it went to your mother via community property or she and your brother were named in the Will or was benificaries of the Trust that existed and you were not, then it is their property and you have no rights to any part of it. If it was purchased with the money/assets they received from your father, it would also be their's alone.
You can go to the County Assessor's Office and look up the current deed to see who is on title.
In California, all community property passes to the surviving spouse. If there is no Will, all private property also passes to her.
Re: Title to the property
Whoops, I was falling asleep a little when answering your question. I see that Mr. Whipple gave the correct answer to its prior posting. You might inherit part of the house, but you can not force anyone else to sell it unless you fill a partition action in court, which could cost 10-15,000+ to you in attorney fees. Can you try to patch up the conflcit with our mother?