Quiet Title Action Papers for Heirs Property, Bad Deeds, Old Liens, and Adverse Possession

A cloud on title is anything in the record, or on the ground, that makes a buyer's title insurer refuse to insure or a lender refuse to lend. Most clouds surface at the worst moment: the escrow officer calls to say the title report shows a problem and the closing is on hold. Some clouds clear with a signature. The rest need a judge, and those are the matters we draft for.

Heirs property with a gap in title is the most common. The record owner died, no probate was opened, and the family has lived in or paid taxes on the house for years. Record title still sits in a dead person's name, divided among heirs, some of whom have died too. Where the heirs agree, an affidavit of heirship and deeds may be enough. Where heirs are missing or will not sign, the quiet title complaint names them, including unknown heirs, and asks the court to settle the shares. If everyone agrees on the shares but not on whether to sell, that is a partition action instead, and we draft that too.

Learning how to quiet title starts with the statute, because the complaint is a checklist the court reads line by line. California's version is the most explicit. Under Code of Civil Procedure Section 761.020, the complaint must be verified, meaning the plaintiff signs under penalty of perjury, and must state five things: a description of the property, including both its legal description and its street address; the plaintiff's title and the basis of that title; the adverse claims the plaintiff wants determined; the date as of which title is to be determined; and a prayer for that determination. If the title rests on adverse possession, the complaint must allege the specific facts that constitute it.

Florida asks for a different kind of proof on the face of the pleading. Section 65.061(3) of the Florida Statutes requires the plaintiff to deraign title, tracing it from the original source or for at least seven years before filing, with the book and page of each recorded instrument, unless both sides claim from a common source. Texas trespass to try title petitions follow Rule 783, which requires the premises to be described by metes and bounds or with enough certainty that possession could be delivered from the description alone.

The part owners do not expect is the hearing. In California, a quiet title judgment is never a paper default: Section 764.010 directs that the court shall not enter judgment by default and must require evidence of the plaintiff's title, even when no defendant shows up. Texas requires prima facie proof against a defendant cited by publication under Rule 800. Florida's Section 65.061(4), by contrast, lets the court enter judgment on a default without taking evidence. We draft the prove-up declarations and exhibit set to the standard your court applies, so the hearing is scheduled with the evidence already in the file.

A lis pendens, also called a notice of pendency of action, is a short document recorded in the county land records that tells the world a lawsuit affecting the property is pending. Anyone who buys or lends against the land afterward takes subject to the outcome. Without it, the defendant can sell or mortgage the parcel mid-case and leave you litigating against a new owner who never heard of the suit.

California makes it mandatory in quiet title cases: Section 761.010(b) requires the plaintiff to file the notice with the county recorder immediately upon filing the complaint. The notice must name all parties and describe the property under Section 405.20, a copy must be mailed by registered or certified mail to the adverse parties and record owners before it is recorded under Section 405.22, and under Section 405.21 it can be recorded only if an attorney of record signs it or, for a self-represented party, a judge approves it. Texas Property Code Section 12.007 requires the notice to state the style and number of the case, the court, the parties, the kind of proceeding, and the property, and a copy must be served on each affected party within three days of filing it for record. Florida Section 48.23 lists the parties, the case information, the court, the property, and the relief sought, and the notice expires one year after the action began unless the claim rests on a recorded instrument or the court extends it.

A lis pendens can also be attacked. California Section 405.32 and Texas Property Code Section 12.0071 both require expungement when the claimant cannot show the probable validity of the real property claim by a preponderance of the evidence, and Texas adds failure to serve the notice as a ground. We draft the notice, the proof of mailing or service, and, when the other side moves to expunge, the opposition that shows the claim is real.