Real Property eNews

Owning property can come in different forms of ownership which grants you different rights. If you acquire an interest in property by sale or inheritance you may end up holding a percentage property interest while another person holds the other part of that interest. When co-owning property with someone, both of your names are on the deed which gives you certain abilities and rights. Read more

Following the devastating wildfires across Southern California in January 2025, it is a good time to revisit standard terms found in commercial leases and consider what upgrades, if any, can be made to protect Tenants in fire-prone areas.   Here are several important considerations for Tenants with existing commercial leases or who may be signing leases in fire-prone areas. Read more

Amundson et al. v. Catello (2025) _ Cal.App.5th _, 2025 WL 868169: The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s interlocutory order identifying the owners of real property as cross-defendant Ruth Catello (Catello) and the estate of decedent Leslie J. Knoles (decedent) and ordering a partition by sale. Decedent had four surviving siblings. Catello and decedent originally acquired title to the real property as joint tenants. About one month before her death, decedent recorded a quitclaim deed that, if valid, severed the joint tenancy and created a tenancy in common Read more

Joint ownership of property carries a significant number of rights with it. However, a joint owner cannot sell the property without permission from other co-owners. If one co-owner wants to sell or encumber the entire property and the other co-owner disagrees this can cause conflict. Outside of marriage, property is usually owned as a tenancy in common, a joint tenancy, or as a partnership. (Civ. Code § 686.) This type of ownership status usually stays the same over the course of one’s ownership. Read more

Batta v. Hunt: Both an unremarkable case about easements and inconsistent rulings as well as a new precedent about the statutory real estate transfer disclosure statement.  Read more

March 2025 By: Monty A. McIntyre, Esq. Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.Helping Attorneys Get Excellent Results Publisher: California Case Summaries™: Know More. Win More.Mediator at ADR Services, Inc.: Business, employment, insurance, probate, real property and torts cases.To schedule, contact one of Monty’s case managers Haward Cho, haward@adrservices.com, (213) 683-1600, or Rachael Boughan, rboughan@adrservices.com, (619) 233-1323. Trial training and preparation. Trial Alchemy™: Learn from Civil Jury Trial Experts. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. California Case Summaries™: California Case Summaries™: California attorneys can win more cases by… Read more

The Real Property Law Section (RPLS) offers attorneys a diverse array of volunteer opportunities across our nine Real Estate Practice Area Committees (PACs). Read more

The Real Property Law Journal (“Journal”) of the Real Property Law Section of the California Lawyers Association is California’s preeminent statewide publication for real estate attorneys. Read more

Partition is the legal procedure used to divide property among co-owners, often used when co-owners disagree about the property’s sale or division. In California, partition can be achieved through multiple methods: (1) Partition In Kind; (2) Partition by Sale; and (3) Partition by Appraisal. Read more

Baca v. Kuang (2025) _ Cal.App.5th _, 2025 WL 84296: The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s judgment, following a bench trial, awarding plaintiff landlord possession of the leased premises in her unlawful detainer action. Read more