# Greenacre Law, LLP > A California law firm handling real property litigation, trusts, estates and probate from four offices in Southern California. Greenacre Law, LLP represents individuals and families in California real property matters, including title, boundary, partition, easement, disclosure and foreclosure disputes, and in the trust, estate and probate work that runs alongside them. Attorneys: Josué Cristóbal Guerrero (California State Bar No. 289039, Founding Partner; https://www.greenacre.law/about/josue-cristobal-guerrero-esq/) and Cynthia Velasco (California State Bar No. 306140, Founding Partner, speaks Spanish; https://www.greenacre.law/about/cynthia-velasco-esq/). Languages: Hablamos español. The full site is available in Spanish at https://www.greenacre.law/es/. Consultations: Call to ask about an initial consultation. Main phone: (800) 997-8008 ## Offices and filing venue - Los Angeles (Los Angeles County): 700 Flower St, Suite 1000, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Phone (800) 997-8008. Court resource: Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 N. Hill St, Los Angeles, CA 90012. - Ontario (San Bernardino County): 337 N. Vineyard Ave, Suite 300, Ontario, CA 91764. Phone (909) 316-5630. Court resource: San Bernardino Justice Center, 247 W. Third St, San Bernardino, CA 92415. - San Diego (San Diego County): 9619 Chesapeake Drive, Suite 223, San Diego, CA 92123. Phone (800) 997-8008. Court resource: San Diego Central Courthouse, 1100 Union St, San Diego, CA 92101. - Carlsbad (San Diego County): 2888 Loker Ave East, Suite 322, Carlsbad, CA 92010. Phone (800) 997-8008. Court resource: North County Regional Center, 325 S. Melrose Dr, Vista, CA 92081. California venue note: under Code of Civil Procedure section 392, an action to recover real property or to determine an interest in real property is tried in the superior court of the county where the property is located. ## Real estate matters - [Real Estate Litigation](https://www.greenacre.law/real-estate/real-estate-litigation/): When a property dispute reaches the point where letters have stopped working, the case goes to court. That is the part we prepare for from the first call. - [Quiet Title](https://www.greenacre.law/real-estate/quiet-title/): A quiet title action asks the court to decide, once and for all, who owns the property and on what terms. - [Partition Actions](https://www.greenacre.law/real-estate/partition-actions/): When people who own a property together cannot agree what to do with it, partition is the court process that ends the deadlock. - [Adverse Possession](https://www.greenacre.law/real-estate/adverse-possession/): Adverse possession is how someone can acquire title by occupying land, and it is also the claim we most often defeat on a single element. - [Easement Litigation](https://www.greenacre.law/real-estate/easement-litigation/): An easement dispute is usually about one thing: someone can no longer get to, or use, something they have always been able to get to. - [Title Fraud](https://www.greenacre.law/real-estate/title-fraud/): A deed that was forged is void, not merely voidable, and that distinction decides most of these cases. - [Non-Disclosures](https://www.greenacre.law/real-estate/nondisclosures/): You bought the house, then you found the thing the seller knew about and did not tell you. - [Foreclosure Defense](https://www.greenacre.law/real-estate/foreclosure-defense/): This is litigation over a foreclosure that should not have happened. It is not a loan modification service. ## Estate and probate matters - [Probate](https://www.greenacre.law/estate-planning/probate/): Probate is the court supervised process of transferring what someone owned after they die. - [Probate Administration](https://www.greenacre.law/estate-planning/probate-administration/): If you have been named to administer an estate, you have taken on legal duties. The people who inherit have the right to hold you to them. - [Probate Litigation](https://www.greenacre.law/estate-planning/probate-litigation/): Probate litigation is what happens when the estate itself becomes the dispute. It is the court fight over who inherits, who is in charge, and what belongs to the estate at all. - [Trust Litigation](https://www.greenacre.law/estate-planning/trust-litigation/): Trust litigation has one deadline that ends more cases than any argument does. - [Trusts](https://www.greenacre.law/estate-planning/trusts/): A trust that was signed but never funded does not do what the family was told it would do. - [Wills](https://www.greenacre.law/estate-planning/wills/): A will decides who receives what, and it does so through the probate court rather than around it. ## Business matters - [Contracts and Entity Formation](https://www.greenacre.law/business-contracts-and-entity-formation/) ## Office pages - Los Angeles: [Los Angeles office](https://www.greenacre.law/los-angeles/), [real estate matters](https://www.greenacre.law/los-angeles/real-estate/), [estate and probate matters](https://www.greenacre.law/los-angeles/estate-planning/) - Ontario: [Ontario office](https://www.greenacre.law/ontario/), [real estate matters](https://www.greenacre.law/ontario/real-estate/), [estate and probate matters](https://www.greenacre.law/ontario/estate-planning/) - San Diego: [San Diego office](https://www.greenacre.law/san-diego/), [real estate matters](https://www.greenacre.law/san-diego/real-estate/), [estate and probate matters](https://www.greenacre.law/san-diego/estate-planning/) - Carlsbad: [Carlsbad office](https://www.greenacre.law/carlsbad/), [real estate matters](https://www.greenacre.law/carlsbad/real-estate/), [estate and probate matters](https://www.greenacre.law/carlsbad/estate-planning/) ## Reviews Google ratings are shown per office, with the date they were checked, at https://www.greenacre.law/reviews/. The firm does not combine them into a single score. ## Articles ### Title, Deeds and Ownership How California records ownership, what clouds a title, and what it takes to clear one. Index: https://www.greenacre.law/blog/topic/title/ - [Quiet Title Actions in California](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/quiet-title/) (2026-08-19): A quiet title action asks a court to decide who owns a property and on what terms. When you need one, what it takes to win, and why nobody wins by default. - [Can My Neighbor Take My Land by Adverse Possession?](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/what-is-adverse-possession/) (2026-08-19): Occupying land does not make it yours. California requires five years of possession and payment of the property taxes, which defeats most claims. - [Someone Forged a Deed to My Property. What Now?](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/do-i-need-to-protect-my-homes-title/) (2026-08-19): A forged deed transfers nothing, but it still sits in the record and still stops your sale. What to do first when one appears on your property. - [Legal Title, Equitable Title, and Who Can Sue](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/transactions-legal-vs-equitable-title/) (2026-08-19): The distinction decides who has standing to bring a quiet title action in California. If you hold only the equitable interest, the case may not be yours to file. - [Types of Deed Used in California](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/transactions-types-of-deed/) (2026-08-19): Grant deed, quitclaim, warranty. The deed you receive decides what the seller has promised you about the title, and the difference matters when something goes wrong. - [What a Cloud on Title Is and How It Clears](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/cloudy-skies-title-defects/) (2026-08-19): A title search has turned up something and your sale is stuck. The common defects on California property, which ones stop a closing, and what it takes to clear each. ### Boundaries, Fences and Easements Where the line actually falls, who may cross it, and how long use hardens into a right. Index: https://www.greenacre.law/blog/topic/boundaries/ - [How Are Neighbor Boundary Disputes Resolved in California?](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/boundary-disputes/) (2026-08-19): Where the line falls is a question of record, not memory. How California boundary disputes are proved, and what a long-standing fence really settles. - [Easements in California](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/easements/) (2026-08-19): An easement is a right to use land you do not own. How each kind arises in California, and what the owner of the burdened land can still do. - [Boundary Fences and Spite Fences](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/boundary-fence/) (2026-08-19): California presumes neighbors share the cost of a dividing fence and requires 30 days' written notice first. A malicious fence over 10 feet is a nuisance. - [Metes and Bounds Descriptions in California](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/boundary-disputes-metes-ll0-bounds/) (2026-08-19): A metes and bounds description traces a boundary by bearings and distances between monuments. How to read one, and why two can describe the same land differently. - [Prescriptive Easements in California](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/easements-historical-use/) (2026-08-19): Five years of open use without permission can create a right to keep using someone else's land, with no requirement to have paid the taxes on it. - [Spite Fences in California](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/spite-fences/) (2026-08-19): A fence built purely to annoy a neighbor can be a private nuisance. Civil Code section 841.4 sets the test, and each of its elements defeats most complaints. - [What Is an Agreed Boundary Line in California?](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/boundary-disputes-agreed-boundary/) (2026-08-19): Neighbors can set an agreed boundary line only when the true line is uncertain and they actually agree on it. A fence both sides lived with is not enough. - [My Neighbor's Fence or Driveway Is on My Land. What Now?](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/what-are-my-options-if-my-neighbors-driveway-is-on-my-property/) (2026-08-19): California courts do not automatically order an encroachment removed. They weigh the hardship of removal against the harm of leaving it in place. ### Co-Ownership and Partition What happens when more than one person owns the property and they cannot agree. Index: https://www.greenacre.law/blog/topic/co-ownership/ - [Can I Force the Sale of a House I Co-Own in California?](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/partition/) (2026-08-19): The 2023 California partition buyout process for qualifying tenancies in common without a recorded agreement, in actions filed on or after January 1, 2023. - [Can I Buy Out a Co-Owner Instead of Forcing a Sale?](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/co-ownership/) (2026-08-19): California's partition buyout process for qualifying tenancies in common without a recorded partition agreement, in actions filed on or after January 1, 2023. - [How Co-Owned Property Is Held in California](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/types-of-tenancy/) (2026-08-19): Joint tenancy, tenancy in common, community property. The vesting on your deed decides what happens on death and what each owner can sell. ### Buying, Selling and Disclosure The contract, the contingencies, the escrow, and what a seller is required to tell you. Index: https://www.greenacre.law/blog/topic/buying-selling/ - [Seller Didn't Disclose a Defect? Your Rights in California](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/nondisclosure-1-duty-to-disclose/) (2026-08-19): California sellers must disclose known material facts. What the Transfer Disclosure Statement covers, and what a buyer does on finding a defect. - [Construction Defects in New California Homes](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/suing-for-construction-defects-in-new-california-homes/) (2026-08-19): The Right to Repair Act sets standards for new residential construction and a pre-litigation procedure. Missing that step stalls a claim before it starts. - [Contingencies in a California Purchase Agreement](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/common-contingencies/) (2026-08-19): A contingency is a condition that must be met before a sale binds. How each works, how they are removed in writing, and when the deposit is at risk. - [Los Angeles Measure ULA Transfer Tax](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/what-is-the-los-angeles-mansion-tax/) (2026-08-26): Measure ULA adds a transfer tax to higher-value real estate transfers in the City of Los Angeles. These are the current thresholds, rates and closing issues. - [Remedies When a Purchase Agreement Fails](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/breach-of-contract-disputes-damages/) (2026-08-19): The remedy depends on which side you are on. Specific performance compels the sale, damages compensate. Which is available is a separate question. - [What an As-Is Clause Does and Does Not Do](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/transactions-as-is-clause/) (2026-08-19): An as-is clause shifts the risk of discoverable conditions to the buyer. It does not license concealment, and it does not displace the statutory disclosure duty. ### Foreclosure, Default and Debt The nonjudicial foreclosure process in California and the protections that surround it. Index: https://www.greenacre.law/blog/topic/foreclosure/ - [The California Nonjudicial Foreclosure Process](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/foreclosure-process/) (2026-08-19): Most California foreclosures happen without a court. The notice of default, the notice of sale, the timeline, and where a homeowner can still act. - [Bankruptcy and a California Foreclosure](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/bankruptcy-chapter-13/) (2026-08-19): A bankruptcy filing stops a foreclosure sale immediately through the automatic stay. Whether it keeps the house is a different question, and the stay can be lifted. - [Deed of Trust vs Mortgage in California](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/transactions-deed-vs-mortgage/) (2026-08-19): California lenders take a deed of trust, not a mortgage. The difference decides how fast a lender can foreclose and what you owe afterwards. - [Options When a California Foreclosure Has Started](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/avoiding-foreclosure/) (2026-08-19): California foreclosure options and Civil Code 2944.7's advance-compensation rule for modification or forbearance work on homes with four or fewer units. - [The One-Action Rule and Anti-Deficiency Rules](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/one-action-rule/) (2026-08-19): Three rules decide whether a lender can pursue you personally after a foreclosure. Which applies depends on the loan, the property and the method. ### Estates, Trusts and Probate Planning ahead, and what happens to real property when someone dies. Index: https://www.greenacre.law/blog/topic/estate/ - [Probate Litigation Over California Real Property](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/what-is-probate-litigation/) (2026-08-19): California title disputes and trust contests, including Probate Code 16061.8's later of 120 days after notice or 60 days after trust delivery. - [Powers of Attorney and California Real Property](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/why-you-need-a-power-of-attorney/) (2026-08-19): A power of attorney decides who can act on your property if you cannot. Without one the alternative is a conservatorship, which is slower and public. - [Proposition 19 and Inherited California Property](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/prop-19/) (2026-08-19): Since February 2021 a child inheriting a parent's home keeps the low tax base only by making it their principal residence, and only up to a limit. - [Should the House Be in a Trust?](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/benefits-of-creating-a-trust-as-part-of-your-estate-planning/) (2026-08-19): A revocable trust keeps California property out of probate, but only if the house was actually transferred into it. The unfunded trust is the common failure. ### Business, Entities and Liability Holding property in an entity, and where that protection stops. Index: https://www.greenacre.law/blog/topic/business/ - [Holding California Real Estate in an LLC](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/creating-an-llc-for-real-estate/) (2026-08-19): An LLC can separate investment property from personal assets, but only if it is run as a real entity. Formation is not the part that protects you. - [When an LLC Stops Protecting You](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/alter-ego-liability-llc/) (2026-08-19): California courts will disregard an entity where the owner treated it as an extension of themselves and respecting it would be unjust. ### Resolving a Dispute Mediation, arbitration and litigation, and how to tell which one you are actually in. Index: https://www.greenacre.law/blog/topic/disputes/ - [Mediation, Arbitration or a Lawsuit for a Property Dispute?](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/using-mediation-to-solve-real-estate-disputes/) (2026-08-19): Most California purchase agreements require mediation first, and your right to recover attorney fees can depend on it. How the three processes differ. - [Mechanics Liens on California Property](https://www.greenacre.law/blog/a-shield-but-no-sword-mechanics-liens-and-anti-slapp/) (2026-08-19): A recorded lien clouds title whether or not the claim is good. Why suing over the recording can backfire under California's anti-SLAPP statute. ## Citation guidance Content on this site states the California statute or decision it relies on. When citing this site, prefer the specific practice page over the homepage, and prefer a named article over the blog index. Every article carries a publication date and a last-modified date in its page metadata. Articles published under the firm's name are the work of its attorneys; where an individual attorney is named as author, that name appears in the byline and in the page's Article schema. ## What this firm does not do The firm does not offer loan modification, forbearance negotiation or foreclosure rescue services, and does not accept advance fees for any such service. Nothing on this site is legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by reading it or by contacting the firm.