recording requested by (california)

[TrustUser]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? california

i am helping my sister out with her estate. i am making a grant deed for her house, granting from her as an individual to her as sole trustee.

i am then preparing another grant deed (for my convenience) transferring from her as trustee to me as trustee, assuming of course that i outlive her.

on this second deed, i will obviously need to put my name and address on the portion where it asks where you want the tax statements to be sent.

at the very top where you put "recording requested by" - should i put my sisters name or my own name ?

 

[latigo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? california

i am helping my sister out with her estate. i am making a grant deed for her house, granting from her as an individual to her as sole trustee.

i am then preparing another grant deed (for my convenience) transferring from her as trustee to me as trustee, assuming of course that i outlive her.

on this second deed, i will obviously need to put my name and address on the portion where it asks where you want the tax statements to be sent.

at the very top where you put "recording requested by" - should i put my sisters name or my own name ?

Unless your are licensed to practice law in the State of California you would thusly be committing a crime.

California Business and Professional Code Section 6125.

"No person shall practice law in California unless the person is an active member of the State Bar.

Section 6126. (a) Any person advertising or holding himself or herself out as practicing or entitled to practice law or otherwise practicing law who is not an active member of the State Bar, or otherwise authorized pursuant to statute or court rule to practice law in this state at the time of doing so, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in a county jail or by a fine of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment. . .(punishment enhanced for continuing infractions) . “

The practice of law has been defined to include:

“The preparation of legal instruments and contracts by which legal rights are secured although such matter may or may not be pending in a court of law” See: People v. Merchants Protective Corp. (1922) 189 Cal. 531,

 

[TrustUser]

from the same person who lives in the dinosaur age of disliking trusts - LOL !!!

just answer the question, or stay silent, please.

all sorts of people prepare real estate deeds - many investors do.

your reply is typical of a lawyer trying to intimidate others from doing anything for themselves - LOL !!!

 

[TrustUser]

just to add two more cents, it is easy to download a grant deed form for free on the computer. and if i was dumb enough, i could pay some lawyer site $25 for the same form.

IN EITHER CASE, i would still need to fill out the form, in which the first field to fill out is the "recording requested by".

or are you now saying that a lawyer has to put that information on the form, as well ? LOL !!! LOL !!

so to restate the question - when filling out the grant deed form, whose name should be in the requested section ? the only time it would actually be filed is when my sister dies, and i am still alive.

i am leaning towards my sister's name, since she is the one requesting that i take over as trustee.

it is not a big deal, as the trust itself gives authority to name a new trustee. but then there is more work to do, since an affidavit for death of trustee, etc. would need to be prepared.

i would like to have a grant deed for myself and my other sister, who is backup for me, to make things a bit easier should either of us be forced to take over.

 

[justalayman]

you are setting yourself up for problems. Multiple deeds floating about and apparently issued by a deceased person is a bit problematic.


first, there is actually a trust which sister is the trustee of, correct? May sound like a silly question but if you think about it, it really isn't. Sillier things have been done.

as to whom is requesting the deed be recorded. It would be whomever send is to the registers office for recording. Usually that is the grantee or the closing agent if used.

http://www.saclaw.lib.ca.us/Uploads/files/forms/GrantDeedInstructions.pdf

 

[ecmst12]

An individual can complete those forms for themselves. Completing them for someone else would be practicing law. Just like you can represent yourself in court, but you can't represent someone else unless you are a licensed attorney.

 

[justalayman]

An individual can complete those forms for themselves. Completing them for someone else would be practicing law. Just like you can represent yourself in court, but you can't represent someone else unless you are a licensed attorney.

I do not know how this has been ruled in California but I do know that filling in a form does not require a person to be a lawyer in Michigan. The writer of information cannot make recommendations as that would be practicing law but they can fill in such a pre-printed form without fear of prosecution. Since the are not creating the document but merely filling in information, there is no requirement to be a lawyer.

anybody know how California actually views the situation for sure?

 

[TrustUser]

you are setting yourself up for problems. Multiple deeds floating about and apparently issued by a deceased person is a bit problematic.


first, there is actually a trust which sister is the trustee of, correct? May sound like a silly question but if you think about it, it really isn't. Sillier things have been done.

as to whom is requesting the deed be recorded. It would be whomever send is to the registers office for recording. Usually that is the grantee or the closing agent if used.

http://www.saclaw.lib.ca.us/Uploads/files/forms/GrantDeedInstructions.pdf

thanks,

yes, there is a trust for the property. i will put my name on one deed, and my backup sister on the other deed.

fyi, i am not charging my sister anything. it is a bit of a strange situation, but my sister would never go to a lawyer to do it. she has emotional problems, and depends on me, and i am doing this for her son, so he is taken care of. this is not the least bit enjoyable for me.

 

[justalayman]

personally, I prescribe to the statement that a doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient and a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. Even those trained in the arts they practice know enough to seek another mind to ensure things are done right. At some point, it would be a good idea to have a lawyer review everything and verify the trust and deeds are properly created. The problem with not doing this is when they are determined to be incorrect, it is usually too late to simply make a correction and all the work you hoped to have saved is small in comparison to the work it now takes to correct the problems, if they can even be corrected.

 

[TrustUser]

if for whatever reason either of the 2 deeds were not accepted after my sister died, it would only mean that we would be more inconvenienced.

neither of us wants to act as trustee, but we are both willing, should the need arise.

i just wanted to get another opinion to give me the best chance of them being accepted. as it is, i thank you again - as i am changing my way of thought to my name and my backup sister's name, instead of my grantor sister's name, which is what i was gonna do.

 

[latigo]

. . . . all sorts of people prepare real estate deeds - many investors do. . . . .

Interesting riposte/excuse about "real estate deeds" inasmuch as you have chosen the category of "Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning"!

 

[justalayman]

can we put this to rest?

The acts of a “scrivener” filling in the blanks on a form at the direction of a client
(People v. Landlords Professional Services (1989) 215 Cal.App.3d 1599, 1608 (defendants who
"made forms available for the client's use and filed and served those forms as directed by the
client” did not practice law); Mickel v. Murphy (1957) 147 Cal.App.2d 718; People v. Sipper
(1943) 61 Cal.App.2d Supp. 844).

that is from:

http://www.caught.net/prose/uplpublic.pdf

and found under the topic/chapter titled:

c. Examples of Activities Which Are Not the Practice of Law

filling in a template is not considered to be practicing law.

Obviously a person could stray into the illegal practicing of law easily but simply filling in the form is not such an act.