My grant deed may be recorded improperly (no description of property), does that mean it is invalid? If so can this become adverse possession?

Did you obtain an owner's title insurance policy when you purchased the property? If so, then you can make a claim to your title insurance company to clear this up for you. Did you use an escrow agent when you purchase the property? If so, then you can go to the escrow officer and request that they clear for you. If you did not obtain an owners title insurance policy and you did not go through an escrow agent, then your first step would be to try to clear up title with a title officer at a title company. A preliminary title report will tell you the status of the ownership of the property. Although there is no legal description of the property, the address and assessors parcel number of the property may be on the grant deed that would sufficiently describe the property. If that doesn't work, then your next step would be to initiate a quiet title action to have a court determine your ownership interest in the property. You probably do not have to use adverse possession as a means of acquiring title, since you already have a grant deed.

If you hired me, I would show the deed to someone I know well at a title insurance company and ask him how to fix your problem. In California, the definition of "marketable" title is whether a title insurance company will issue a title insurance policy to a new buyer or lender. If the recorded pages include the street address or the Assessor's Parcel Number, it might be possible that a title company would agree to insure a new buyer or lender (not you). The title company might want to record something signed and sworn to by you showing the page and a print out from the Assessor's records showing that it is the same property, and with a proper legal description attached. In order to be a valid and enforceable transfer, the description needs to be sufficiently specific that it identifies the property and distinguishes it from all other properties. A street address or Assessor's Parcel Number, combined with a parcel map or recorded survey map or an Assessor's map which shows the same property and its boundaries, should be enough to accomplish that. The question will be what will it take to convince a title insurance company to issue a policy, based on those documents. The goal here is to not go through the time and expense of a quiet title lawsuit. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack