Pembroke Pines Real Estate Title Dispute Attorney

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents homeowners, investors, heirs, and former business partners in Pembroke Pines and across Broward County whose ownership of a piece of real estate has been challenged, clouded, or shared with someone they no longer want to share it with. The firm handles quiet title actions, partition cases, and competing ownership claims, and it serves South Florida clients as well as owners in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold property here. If you are looking for a Pembroke Pines real estate title dispute attorney, you are probably dealing with a recorded document that should not be there, a co-owner who will not cooperate, or a deed that does not say what everyone assumed it said.

Title problems rarely announce themselves. They surface when a refinance stalls, a buyer’s title company flags an unreleased claim, a relative records a deed nobody knew about, or a sibling inherits a share of a house and refuses to sell. In a community like Pembroke Pines, where many homes have changed hands several times and plenty of owners hold property with relatives, former partners, or investors, a single defect in the chain can freeze a sale or a loan. Resolving it usually means asking a court to declare who owns what.

What a Title Dispute Looks Like in Practice

A title dispute is any disagreement about who holds legal or equitable ownership of real property, or whether someone else’s recorded claim has any validity. Sometimes the problem is on paper: a forged or defective deed, a lien that was never released, a gap in the chain of ownership, or a conveyance made under questionable circumstances. Sometimes it is about conduct: someone has occupied or used land for years and now claims a right to it.

Florida gives courts specific tools for these situations. A quiet title action lets a person claiming legal or equitable title ask the court to cancel a conveyance or other evidence of title held by someone who is not the rightful owner, removing the cloud from the property. A plaintiff generally has to trace title back at least seven years before filing unless the court orders otherwise, so the documents matter enormously. The suit can be filed in any county where some part of the land sits, and when the claim rests on an allegedly fraudulent attempted conveyance, Florida law allows summary procedure and directs the court to move the case up on its calendar. That can make these cases move faster than ordinary civil litigation.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for a Pembroke Pines Title Dispute

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving Pembroke Pines, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and the rest of Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Andrew M. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator, brings years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts.

Title disputes often grow out of business relationships and family arrangements, and that is where this firm’s practice is concentrated: conflicts between partners, LLC members, shareholders, siblings, and co-investors who own property together. The firm also handles partition actions, quiet title actions, and failed closings and contract disputes. On the real estate side, the firm recently obtained a 32-page final judgment from a Broward County circuit court after a five-day bench trial, awarding its client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That is the kind of document-heavy, trial-tested work a contested title matter can demand.

The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on your file knows it, and it keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy. Many cases come through referrals from other attorneys, and the firm handles local court appearances for out of state clients who do not want to travel for every hearing. It is also experienced in mediation and arbitration, and it looks for the resolution that fits a client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case.

Common Title and Co-Ownership Disputes We Handle

• Quiet Title Actions: A lawsuit asking the court to declare who owns the property and cancel competing claims, used when a conveyance or recorded instrument is held by someone who is not the rightful owner.
• Partition Between Co-Owners: When owners cannot agree on what to do with shared property, a court can divide it or order a sale and split the proceeds. This comes up among former business partners, siblings, unmarried couples, and investors who want out.
• Heirs Property: Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies to many inherited, shared parcels, adding protections for relatives who hold fractional interests and limiting forced sales.
• Fraudulent or Defective Conveyances: Forged signatures, deeds signed without authority, and transfers made to strip someone of their interest can be attacked through a quiet title or related claim.
• Adverse Possession Claims: Someone who has possessed land openly for the required statutory period may assert ownership, and an owner may need to defend against that claim or pursue it.
• Business Partner Property Disputes: When a company, its members, and individual owners each have a claim to the same real estate, the title question is tied to the partnership dispute itself.
• Failed Closings and Contract Disputes: Disagreements over purchase and sale contracts can end in claims over who is entitled to the property, including actions seeking to compel the sale.
• Emergency Relief Over Property: When a co-owner is about to transfer, encumber, or strip value from real estate, temporary injunctions can hold things in place while the case proceeds.

What to Do When Someone Challenges Your Ownership

Start by pulling together every document that touches the property: your deed, the closing file from your purchase, any title insurance policy, mortgage and satisfaction records, surveys, trust or probate paperwork if the property came through a family member, and any correspondence with the person disputing ownership. Then look at what is actually recorded in the public records, because the cloud on your title is usually a specific recorded instrument, and knowing exactly what it is and who filed it shapes everything else. The Broward County Clerk holds the official records for Pembroke Pines properties.

Do not sign anything the other side sends you, and do not transfer, mortgage, or make major changes to the property without advice, because those moves can complicate your position or the court’s remedies. If you hold title insurance, notify the insurer promptly; some policies obligate the insurer to defend certain title challenges, and delay can create problems. Keep paying taxes, insurance, and the mortgage so no one can later argue you abandoned the property.

Pay attention to timing. Florida’s deadlines vary by claim. An action to recover real property is generally barred unless the plaintiff or a predecessor was in possession within seven years before filing. An action founded on a written instrument has a five-year period, a claim not founded on a written instrument has four years, and a rescission action has four. Fraud claims run four years from discovery but are capped at 12 years, and a specific performance action must be brought within one year. Which period governs depends on the facts, so a short early review of your documents is worth more than waiting to see how things develop.

Cases involving property in Pembroke Pines are filed in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County. A quiet title or partition case is an equity matter heard in the circuit court, and the Seventeenth Circuit runs a complex business division that handles certain business entity disputes and large business and construction litigation. If your title problem is bound up with a partnership or LLC dispute, how the case is filed and assigned can matter. Federal court is a possibility only when the parties and issues meet federal jurisdictional requirements; the Southern District of Florida sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

How Partition Works When Co-Owners Cannot Agree

Many title disputes are really disagreements between people who both own the property. Partition is the remedy. All partition actions are brought in equity under Chapter 64, and the complaint has to describe the land, identify each owner and where they live, and state what share each holds. If the court enters a judgment of partition, it appoints three commissioners to determine whether the land can be divided fairly. If they report that division would prejudice the owners, the court can order the property sold at public auction, with proceeds divided according to each owner’s interest. On a sale made on credit for good cause, at least one-third of the purchase money must be paid down unless everyone consents otherwise.

Inherited property gets different treatment. Where cotenants hold as tenants in common, one or more acquired title from a relative, and a qualifying condition applies, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests, the property may be heirs property governed by Part II of Chapter 64. In those cases a partition in kind is not entered unless the court is satisfied that the commissioners considered the statutory factors and found that dividing the land would prejudice the cotenants as a group. For a family that inherited a Pembroke Pines house or lot, that distinction can decide whether the property is sold out from under the person who wants to keep it.

When the Dispute Involves a Business Entity

Real estate is often held through an LLC or corporation, and a title dispute can become an ownership fight over the entity. Florida’s LLC statute lets a member or manager seek judicial dissolution on grounds that include unlawful conduct of the company’s affairs, misappropriation or waste of assets, and deadlock that threatens irreparable injury. The court can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order the purchase of a petitioning member’s interest. Corporations have a parallel framework, including a buyout election that lets the company or other shareholders purchase a petitioning shareholder’s shares at fair value, with a 60-day window to agree on terms. Operating or shareholder agreements may also contain deadlock sale provisions, and those can control. Reading the governing documents first is essential before choosing a course.

Pembroke Pines Title Dispute FAQ

What is a quiet title action?

It is a lawsuit asking a court to determine who owns real property and to cancel or remove competing claims. In Florida it can be used to cancel a conveyance or other evidence of title held by someone who is not the rightful owner, clearing the cloud so the property can be sold, financed, or transferred.

How far back does the title search have to go?

A quiet title plaintiff generally must trace title for at least seven years before filing, unless the court orders otherwise. In practice, the chain often has to be examined further to find the source of the defect.

Can a co-owner force me to sell?

Often, yes. An owner of a shared property can ask the court for partition, and if the property cannot be divided fairly, the court can order a sale and split the proceeds. Heirs property has added protections, so the type of ownership matters.

How do I know if my property is heirs property?

It is generally real property held as tenants in common with no binding agreement among the cotenants about partition, where at least one cotenant acquired title from a relative and another statutory condition is met, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests.

Can someone take my property by adverse possession?

It is possible but demanding. A claimant without color of title must show actual possession for seven years under a claim of title exclusive of any other right, and must file a return with a full legal description. Claims under color of title also require seven years of continuous possession and a recorded instrument. Owners who monitor their property rarely lose it this way.

My title insurance company denied my claim. What now?

A denial is not always the end. Policies have exclusions, exceptions, and notice requirements, and denials can sometimes be challenged. Review the policy and the denial letter with a lawyer before assuming you have no recourse.

How long does a quiet title case take?

It depends on whether anyone contests it and how complicated the chain of title is. An uncontested case moves much faster than one with a defendant who disputes the documents. When the claim rests on an alleged fraudulent conveyance, Florida law provides summary procedure and calendar priority, which can shorten the timeline.

Can I stop a co-owner from selling or mortgaging the property while we fight?

Possibly. Courts can issue temporary injunctions to preserve the status quo when there is a real risk property will be transferred or encumbered during the case. Because these requests are urgent, they are worth raising early.

Does a deed fix a title problem if I never recorded it?

Not reliably. For color of title purposes in particular, the instrument must be recorded with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the property sits before the possession counts. Unrecorded documents create risk against later buyers and lenders.

I live in New York or New Jersey and co-own a Broward property. Can you handle it?

Yes. The firm represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with real estate interests in South Florida, handles the local court appearances, and keeps you informed so you do not have to travel for every hearing.

Do I have to litigate to resolve a title or co-ownership dispute?

Not always. Negotiation, mediation, and arbitration resolve many of these disputes, including buyouts between co-owners. The firm is experienced in both alternative dispute resolution and courtroom litigation and will pursue whichever path fits your goals.

Serving Real Estate Title Clients Across Pembroke Pines and Broward County

The firm represents owners throughout Pembroke Pines, from the neighborhoods near Pines Boulevard and Flamingo Road to the communities along Pembroke Road and the western areas toward the Everglades. We also serve clients in neighboring Hollywood, Miramar, Davie, Cooper City, Weston, and Southwest Ranches, and throughout Broward County in Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Sunrise, Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Deerfield Beach, and Pompano Beach.

Our work extends north into Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach. Clients from the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut area who own property or share ownership with someone in South Florida can rely on the firm to handle the Florida proceedings locally.

Talk to a Pembroke Pines Title Dispute Attorney About Your Property

If a deed, a lien, a family member, or a former partner is standing between you and clear ownership of your property, a conversation with a Pembroke Pines title dispute attorney at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can help you understand where you stand and which remedy fits. Call the firm to discuss your situation; we return every call within 24 hours and can arrange a scheduled conference call at a time that works for you.