"Unknown" parcel of land in California - Is Adverse Possession appropriate solution?

[LostParcel]

"Unknown" parcel of land in California - Is Adverse Possession appropriate solution?

What is the name of your state? California

Here is what happened:

1957 - X owns a parcel 200' wide by 300' long.

1958 - X gift deeds western part 100' wide by 300' long to Y (parcel A), deed is not recorded. X lives on parcel A until her death in 1984.

1963 - X sells eastern part 90' wide by 300' to Z (parcel B). Assessor's Map updated to show 2 parcels 110'x300'[Parcel C] and 90'x300'[parcel B].

1982 - gift deed to Y is recorded. Assessor's Map never updated to indicate the 100'x300' parcel A that it created, and remainder 10'x300' [parcel D] No one noticed the creation of parcel D at this time.

1984 - X dies intestate. X still owned the 10'x300' [parcel D] strip of land between parcel A and parcel B, but nobody realized it. Family members, the Assessor's Office, and Law Firm X all overlooked the existence of parcel D, and treated it as an undivided part of parcel C, Including a fence built in 1963, between parcels B and C, which conforms to the Assessor's mapping.

1986 W purchases parcel A.

2007 - The existence of parcel D is "discovered" by W. The County has no record of a probate of X's estate. The law firm that handled everything including the deed in 1958, says the records were put into storage and then destroyed.

Is a quiet title action based in adverse possession an appropriate course of action for W to quiet title to parcel D that she has occupied as part of parcel A? It seems that technically, parcel D is in X's estate.What is the name of your state?

 

[tranquility]

How has Z possessed parcel D?

 

[seniorjudge]

How has Z possessed parcel D?

And...what class is this for?

 

[LostParcel]

How has Z possessed parcel D?

Thanks for the reply tranquility.

Let me clear up an error in my original post, and add some detail.

Z did not buy the property in 1986, W did, and W still owns it.

1963 - Z buys parcel B from X, his mother.

1982 - Z dies intestate. As community property, parcel B goes to his wife, V. Deed of parcel A to Y recorded.

1983 - Y (who was Z's sister, and X's daughter), sells parcel A to V for half of its value. Z and V had moved to California from the midwest to care for X after X's husband died in 1952. Y felt that Z and V were entitled to half of the gift from X to Y, therefore the sale for half price. Y lived in the midwest. At this time it is believed and intended that V own all of the property, 200'x300', as shown on the Assessor's map. X is in failing health.

1984 X dies as previously noted.

1986 V sells parcel A to her daughter W, who owns it today.

Sorry for the confusion. I hope this makes it clearer. The bottom line is that according to the legal descriptions of the property, W owns parcel A, W and her brothers and sisters own parcel B, and a 10' strip of land between the two is still in X's unprobated estate.

 

[LostParcel]

And...what class is this for?

This is not for a class, believe it or not. It's real life.

 

[tranquility]

Seems to me the only one who can claim any type of possession is the owner of parcel C.

 

[LostParcel]

Seems to me the only one who can claim any type of possession is the owner of parcel C.

That's what W and I believe. As far as the County Assessor's office is concerned, parcels A and D do not exist, only a combination of the two, i.e. parcel C. W has occupied all of parcel C, and paid taxes on it since 1986. However, parcel C does not legally exist. The deed executed in 1958 and recorded in 1982 split it into A and D, without anyone apparently realizing it. That includes the law firm that first prepared the deed and then had it recorded in 1982, and also handled the estates of X and Z.

How do we get the legal description to match the assessor's map, and the intents and perceptions of all involved in this mess (unknown at the time)?

 

[tranquility]

I'd see a real estate attorney. I think the owner of C can do an adverse possession suit at any time. If you send a permission letter, it would put the owner on notice and I believe he could still initiate the suit. In fact, anything you do will put the owner on notice to initiate the suit. You could probate D, which would give clear title to a person, but C could still initiate a suit. You need to talk with someone with experience to see if there is any way out.

 

[LostParcel]

I'd see a real estate attorney. I think the owner of C can do an adverse possession suit at any time. If you send a permission letter, it would put the owner on notice and I believe he could still initiate the suit. In fact, anything you do will put the owner on notice to initiate the suit. You could probate D, which would give clear title to a person, but C could still initiate a suit. You need to talk with someone with experience to see if there is any way out.

I'd prefer to leave attorneys out of it. They made the mess in the first place and walked away from it. My own experience with attornies also makes me reluctant.

From what I have researched, W could bring a pro per action to quiet title based on adverse possession. I have found pleading forms on line for that exact action. The heirs to X's estate appear to be W, her three brothers and sisters, a nephew, and three cousins and/or their heirs. Those persons appear to be the interested parties based on intestate succession, and the individuals to whom W's possession and use of parcel D has been adverse (excepting W herself).

Any thoughts on proceeding with such an action?

 

[tranquility]

Everybody prefers to leave attorneys out of it. But, they always keep getting into it because they are the only ones with the training and experience to handle difficult legal problems.

If you want to solve things, get an attorney. If not, you need a lot more knowledge about the issues and court proceedure than the internet will provide. Start with Nolo press books. They're pretty good in uncontested issues.