Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Colorado

How can husband represent wife in lawsuit?

My wife and I have owned a

''share'' of a vacation condominium

with 4 other couples. She is listed

on the deed as one of the co-

owners (tenants in common). The

owners intended to but never did

enter into a written agreement

regarding management of the

condo that would have included the

standard clause that would have

surrendered the right to partition by

sale. The other three owners have

sued my wife to force the sale of

the condo as it is to their

advantage to sell the condo as a

unit rather than to sell ''shares'' of

the condo under their right to

partition by sale.. We are defending

our position with the argument that

there is an implied surrender of

right of partition by sale under our

verbal agreement. My question is:

We put my wife�s name on the deed

because it was the simplest thing to

do. One person from each couple

was listed on the deed to show

25% ownership. However, we are

representing ourselves because the

cost of getting legal counsel could

be more than 10% of the value of

our share. How can the lawsuit be

transferred to me (I am not an

attorney) so that I can speak in

court, attend status conferences

etc.? Can this be done by a motion

to the court?


Asked on 7/16/09, 9:27 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Robert Murillo Pivotal Legal Ltd.

Re: How can husband represent wife in lawsuit?

Morning,

You cannot represent her unless you are an attorney. If she is the sole party to the suit (meaning you are not listed), then she can only represent herself or get an attorney.

As to the expense for an attorney, 10% of an asset is not excessive. If it was 30-50 or more, then that would be an issue. In the alternative to full representation you could ask about limited representation. That is when an attorney does not make an appearance but advises on law and procedure.

I would strongly advise that you get legal counsel as your partition defense requires more than you are asserting.

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Answered on 7/17/09, 9:28 am


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