Joint tenants may bring a partition action for real estate. Clark v. Dady, 131 S.W.3d 382, 386 (Mo. Ct. App. 2004). The property can be sold where partition in kind cannot be “made without great prejudice to the parties.” Id. (citing Rule 96.18 and §528.620, RSMo). From the sale proceeds, parties are entitled to reimbursement…
Legal Articles
Real Estate Descriptions in Quiet Title Judgments
In quiet title lawsuits, Missouri requires that the judgment describe the affected real estate with reasonable certainty. Patterson v. Harrison, 46 S.W.3d 580, 581 (Mo. Ct. App. 2001). Every party to a quiet title suit has a right to have their respective titles affirmatively adjudged and declared. Turkey Mountain Airport, Inc. v. Estate of Faler,…
Transferring Assets to a Trust
Assets are typically only subject to the terms of a trust — and within the trustee’s control and authority — if they are owned by the trust. Assets need to be transferred to a trust in a legally precise way for the transfer to be effective. For instance, an actual deed conveying ownership must be…
Real Estate Valuation, Experts
Sometimes it is necessary in real estate disputes to provide the value of real estate. Obviously, opinions and values can vary wildly. The “fair market value” of real estate is generally what a “willing buyer would pay in cash to a willing seller.” Labrayere v. Bohr Farms, LLC, 458 S.W.3d 319, 330 (Mo. 2015). An…
Transfer in Fraud of Marital Rights, Disability/Minors
To prevail on a transfer in fraud of marital rights claim, a plaintiff/surviving spouse needs to show that the deceased spouse “gave away his [or her] property without consideration with the intent and purpose of defeating…marital rights.” Nelson v. Nelson, 512 S.W.2d 455, 459 (Mo. Ct. App. 1974). Section 474.150.2, RSMo states that there is…
Escrow Agreements, Breach of Escrow
Escrow is a term generally used in the context of real estate transactions. A conditional delivery, or delivery in “escrow,” means that delivery is conditioned upon the performance of some act or the occurrence of some event. Hammack v. Coffelt Land Title Inc., 348 S.W.3d 75, 81 (Mo. Ct. App. 2011). It is the same…
Riparian Rights
Riparian rights refers to a landowner’s rights to water on or adjacent to his or her property. When one is a riparian owner, one has certain rights, including the right to swim, boat and fish in and on the waters, to take water for domestic use only, to skate and ride on ice, and to…
Statute of Limitations for Quiet Title Claims
A quiet title claim is a request to the Court to determine all interests in a parcel of real estate. It is often used to clear title and ownership disputes. Though it is not frequently an issue, there is a limitations period to bring such a claim. Specifically, there is a ten (10) year statute…
Nuisance: Real Property/Estate Interference
An owner of real estate may maintain a lawsuit for nuisance if there is an unreasonable, unusual, or unnatural use of one’s property so that it substantially impairs the right of another to peacefully enjoy his or her property. Frank v. Envtl. Sanitation Msgmt, Inc., 687 S.W.2d 876, 880 (Mo. 1985). A nuisance claim is…
Bona Fide Purchasers, Ownership-Title Disputes
Property ownership disputes can be complex, particularly in the context of real estate. It is not uncommon for there to be an improper or defective conveyance of real estate that goes unnoticed, and then there are several subsequent transfers of the same property between different people. For this reason, it is important to record all…