Estate of Avila
Petitioner and respondent Joaquin Valencia’s parents purchased a house in San Jose. When they retired, Valencia’s parents moved back to Mexico and told Valencia that the house was his if he took over the mortgage payments and paid the property taxes and insurance premiums. Valencia moved into the house in 1994 and paid the mortgages, taxes, and insurance for approximately 17 years. The house, which had been a rental for a number of years, was in disrepair and Valencia made numerous improvements to the property. Valencia’s mother passed away in December 2006. In 2007, Valencia’s father married objector and appellant Dora Celia Alvarez Gomez in Mexico. Valencia’s father passed away in April 2008 and Gomez was named the sole heir and executor of his estate in Mexico. Gomez appointed Jose Anguiano to serve as her personal representative in the United States. Anguiano filed a probate action on Gomez’s behalf, identifying the house that Valencia lived in as the sole asset of the estate. In June 2010, Valencia filed a petition pursuant to Probate Code section 850[1] to determine title to the property and to require Anguiano to transfer the property to him, on resulting trust and constructive trust theories. Gomez filed a written objection and then a demurrer based on the statute of limitations. After the court overruled Gomez’s demurrer, the case proceeded to trial. The court granted Valencia’s petition, concluded that a constructive trust was the appropriate remedy,[2] and ordered Anguiano to transfer the property to Valencia. Gomez appeals.
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