Residential Real Estate Legal Questions

Assuming the property is under contract and there is no agreement regarding the split of the proceeds, the closing agent will cut a check naming all 3 of you as payees and let you fight it out amongst yourselves. If not under contract, you may want to consider seeking a judicial partition and have the court can resolve the respective rights of the parties.... Read More

You may have legal rights.  Generally if the driveway (or some other obvious sign of occupation) was in place for at least 15 years, without permission from the neighbor, or if you and the neighbor had a dispute about the boundary location and yet he acquiesced in your driveway being there, you would have protected rights.  Acquiescence is the most likely cause of action against the neighbor.  You need to take legal action within one year of the "ouster" to reclaim your rights.  These cases are very fact-dependent so can get costly.... Read More

It is not dower but homestead protections that require a husband to sign a mortgage for a house in which he lives with his wife.  Michigan abolished curtesy (male dower) decades ago and dower (which only protected wives) earlier this year.  Signing the mortgage means you can be booted in event of a foreclosure, which is why the lender insists upon having both spouses sign.  You would be liable for the debt if you signed the mortgage NOTE, a separate document agreeing to repay the loan.  If your name is not on the last deed, you and your wife need to look at your estate planning situation.... Read More

Most likely.  Unless it was left to you as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, your sibling can force a sale through a partition action.  And such a sale is like a foreclosure sale so usually one of the interested parties--the one with the biggest checkbook--gets to buy the property at a bargain price, with the other sibling getting part of the sale price.  It is far better in this situation if the siblings can work out a deal, like you buying out your sibling's interest at fair value or paying half the fair market rent to your sibling, or selling the property through a realtor to get the maximum value out of it.   ... Read More

An action to quiet title is a lawsuit that is filed with the court to determine appropriate ownership of the property. Your situation involves major factual and procedural issues. These are issues that we can discuss. If you are interested in pursuing the matter further, I off an initial 1/4 hour consultation without charge, and a 1/2 hour consultation for $50. If you want to set an appointment for the initial consultation, feel free to telephone, or email, my office; if you are outside of the Salt Lake area, we can handle all of this by phone.

David R. Hartwig 

801-486-1715
drhlaw@ix.netcom.com... Read More

No, however, you should understand that title companies do not represent you for legal matters which often arise. Further, many attorneys are title agents and can provide title insurance and closing services at the same cost as title companies. Attorneys are required to carry malpractice insurance which can serve as a double layer of protection for you and the transaction. Attorney's are cheap insurance for parties in real estate transactions. Also, attorneys can prepare or review your contract. Realtors have no legal duties with respect to drafting contracts.... Read More

If you both co-signed on a house your rights are the same as any other two people who purchase a house together would be. Depending upon the wording of the deed, you would both be considered tenants in common with equal (50/50) rights. Neither can sell the property without the other's consent, and both parties would assume half the debts as well as half the assets in the house. Hopefully, you had an attorney review the agreements for you before signing anything, and I don't mean an attorney that your boyfriend retained for himself. Your rights are not the same as a married couple would have. Married couples usually share a house as joint tenants in common with rights of survivorship. What that would mean, for instance, if one spouse died, the other inherits the whole house by rights of survivorship. With tenants in common, if one party died, absent some other agreement like a will, the other party's half share would belong to his or her heirs. Again, I hope that you had an attorney when you entered into the agreement, because if you didn't you may have surrendered rights that you possessed.... Read More

Your listing agreement would be the first place to go to find out what your options are for cancelling.  You can probably cancel at any time but you might owe them a commission if you ink a sales agreement before August.  You might also complain to them and get them to start getting you more activity.  Their effort isn't all that gets you activity --some of that is on the desireability of your home and what you've done to make it presentable.  Sounds like you need some dialogue with your realtor. ... Read More

Unfortunately this is not the type of dispute that can be determined by a small claims court. A title search would be able to clarify if there is actually a recorded easement and if there isn't it is up to your neighbor to file a suit for a prescriptive easement to establish that they have the right to use the property.  Alternatively you would have several claims that you could file in a regular unlimited superior court action to resolve this matter. Thanks,Jon... Read More

You'll have to record an affidavit and the death certificate removing your father's name from title. I do not suggest your mother transferring the house to you during your lifetime.  She should create a trust that names you as the beneficiary in order to avoid probate at her passing. Contact an attorney for a full consultation.... Read More