QUESTION
Can I evict my ex boyfriend who is living in a house with the title under my name and claiming a partnership?
Asked on Oct 28th, 2017 on Real Estate - California
More details to this question:
My boyfriend at the time (now my ex) provided the down payment as a gift payment to me for the house.I am the only one on the title and on the mortgage. He moved into the house and the relationship almost immediately went south. He has lived there for years and paid me the money, then I pay the mortgage. I subsidize the mortgage a little with my money and pay water and garbage. I never lived there. I want to end the arrangement and sell the house. Can I evict him, sell the property, and refund him his down payment? Or do I need to go through a costly partition action even though he is not on the title? (His attorney is claiming that he is a partner in the ownership of the property even though this is nowhere in writing and legally on the title the house is mine, and only my name is on the title and mortgage). What's more is he refuses to agree to sell the property, he wants to buy it but doesn't have the credit to buy it for what it's worth (the house has appreciated a lot)
1 ANSWER
That's one possible strategic choice. Since the other side has already engaged a lawyer, an eviction lawsuit is going to precipitate a lawsuit over who owns the property. The lawsuit will be very expensive. Is he a tenant or a co-owner. Each side will dig deep to find every penny each spent on the property. He'll want credit for work he did to improve the property. The process will take at least a year. Legal fees going over each item will probably eat up most of the equity. In the end, it is very likely the two sides will settle. Why not save all that effort, time and money, and try to negotiate a deal now?
If the other side is represented by counsel, you will need a lawyer to both advise you when the other side is wrong about the law, and to advocate on your behalf for the best possible compromise.
If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business.
Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need.
Dana Sack
Answered on Oct 30th, 2017 at 11:07 AM