Peterson v. Wells Fargo Bank
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs, who purported to have a remainder fee interest in the real property at issue, filed suit to quiet title to the property, claiming that the surviving spouse only had a life estate in the real property and no power to encumber it. After the surviving spouse was distributed the property from the probate court, she executed and recorded a deed of trust on the property in favor of a lender to secure a loan. The surviving spouse subsequently died and the lender recorded a notice of default and election to sell the real property. The court concluded that, even if the surviving spouse had a right to sell the property, that right did not convert her life estate into a fee simple estate. Therefore, the lender had no rights to the property upon the death of the surviving spouse and affirmed the judgment in favor of plaintiffs.
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