grant deed
in 1983 my parents put a house in my brothers name to avoid the i.r.s. my brother never filed the deed because he thought he could be liable. years later my mother died and my dad asked my brother for the title back. my brother said he threw it away. my dad had a trust and will made by a law firm and left the house to me and my sister in 1997. We have a quit claim deed recorded in the trust but my brother is now trying to file his 20 year old grant deed. Who has the legal claim to the house?
Re: grant deed
Your brother is creating an interesting mess. The property should be in the name of the trust but the quit claim deed will effectively put a cloud on title. If you brother records the deed, this may be considered an act violating the no contest clause, if one exists in your father’s trust. You should see an attorney to help you with this problem and the post-death adminstration issues.
Scott Schomer
Schomer Law Group
8740 Sepulveda Boulevard, Suite 107
Los Angeles, 90045
Re: grant deed
Your brother has a claim and you will have to fight a potentially expensive legal battle. If your facts are proven out, you will win, but you will need representation. You may contact me.
Christopher M. Brainard, Esq.
Law Offices of C. M. Brainard — (310) 266-4115
1715 Via El Prado, Unit 9
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Re: grant deed
If the facts are proven as you give them (and as I understand them) you will LOSE.
The deed your parents made out in favor of your brother is as valid unrecorded as recorded. Once the deed was made and delivered, your brother became the owner and your parents became former owners, and therefore had nothing to quitclaim or to place into trust.
The function of recording a deed is not to complete the transfer of the real property; that happens upon delivery of the executed deed to the grantee. Recording has the function of giving notice of the existence of the deed to the world.
It is true that a prior unrecorded deed is ineffective against a subsequent bona-fide purchaser for value who is without notice of the prior deed. In your situation, however, you don’t have a purchase for value; you have an inheritance. Further, the family members seem to have notice of the 1983 deed.
Also, contrary to popular belief, tearing up a deed doesn’t un-do the transfer of the property, even if both the grantor and the grantee so intend! Transfer of real estate can only be done by a written instrument, so to un-do the effect of a properly executed and delivered deed, the property must be re-deeded back to the original grantor by another (written) deed.
So, I think you and your sister need to approach the situation carefully and defensively. I may not have all the facts, or I may have mis-understood something in them, or there may be a loophole or some esoteric theory you can raise to un-do the 1983 deed. But on the face of it, your case looks rather weak.
Bryan Whipple
Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law
P O Box 318
Tomales, CA 94971-0318
Re: grant deed
You seem to have received responses that touch every base imaginable. Let me add another.
Unless you and your brother can reach agreement, the action filed will one to “quiet title” which is basically an equitable action. Even though Mr. Whipple is correct on the law, it would be my thought that the simple equities of the situation would put you and your sister in a better position than the brother. Nonetheless, the best result would be a settlement in which everyone knows the final result. In lawsuits, hardly anything is definite and nearly everything is expensive once you get attorneys involved. If there is a middle ground that you siblings can agree upon, do it. Otherwise, make sure you see a good lawyer.
Barry Snyder
Snyder Law
4050 Calle Real, Suite 200
Santa Barbara, CA 93110