Matter of the Lloyd West Trust

Case Number

25PR00517

Case Type

Hearing Date / Time

Wed, 11/19/2025 - 08:30

Nature of Proceedings

Petition to Determine Claim to Real Property

Tentative Ruling

Probate Notes:

Appearances required.  The following must be submitted:

Death certificate.  Please submit a death certificate as proof of death. (Evid. Code, §412, Hlth. & Saf. Code, § 103550.)

Recorded Title.  Petitioner alleges title is held by the trust, because the settlor of the subject trust transferred title to himself as trustee, but never recorded the deed the settlor executed to do so.  However, there is no allegation in the petition that settlor held title to the subject property, nor is there a deed on file showing how title to the subject property is currently held.  Since “a person may not transfer an estate or interest in property unless that person is the owner of the estate or interest in question or has the legal authority to act on that owner's behalf” (Restatement (Fourth) of Property § 1.1 (2024), the Court must have evidence of how title is held:

The nemo dat principle is typically expressed in the full Latin phrase “nemo dat quod non habet,” which roughly translates to “one can only transfer what one owns” or, in the negative, “one cannot transfer property that one does not own.” It is sometimes called the “derivation principle” because the transferee's interest derives from the transferor's.

(Id., at cmnt. a. See also (Miller & Starr (2024) 3 Cal. Real Est. § 8:58 (4th ed.) § 8:58 [“It is axiomatic that a deed cannot convey more than is owned by the grantor. If a deed purports to convey property that is not owned by the grantor, it is ineffective to convey the property, and it is a “wild deed” that can have no effect on title of the person who holds real title to the property.”]; and Romero v. Shih (2024) 15 Cal.5th 680, 689 [citing same in Miller & Starr].)

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