[starlite53]

I am the 76 year old owner of a $6mil piece of property. A les pence has been placed on it claiming breach of contract via a lawsuit. The defendant is claiming that a verbal agreement was made to sell him the property for $3.5mil. No funds were exchanged and no documents have been signed. The defendant is refusing to answer my attorney's attempt to resolve this matter in court. The courts have held this matter up for over 5 years. Time of the essence has been ignored by Judge assigned to case. Defendant and Judge are friends. This matter is on the dockets in Freehold, NJ.

Can I quit claim this asset and all other realestate assets over to a trust or family member? What will happen to the les pence if title is granted to family member or trust? Who is responsible for any outstanding mortgages on property?

[ScottGem]

Are you referring ot a Lis Pendens? This is a notice of pending litigation against a property. This means the property CANNOT be transferred until the litigation has been filed.

If I were your attorney, I would file a counter suit against this person for losses incurred due to his lawsuit. I would also insist that the judge recuse himself from the case. If the judge refuses to recuse himself, then go to a higher court or judge supervisor and get the case moved.

[LisaB4657]

Well, the property can be transferred, but the new owner will not be able to get title insurance or finance the property. In addition the prior owner would still be liable to pay off all liens and mortgages on the property and any current mortgage loans would most likely become immediately due in full. If they are not paid then the lender can still foreclose. So transferring the property to a family member or trust really won't accomplish anything.

There are obviously other issues involved with this situation. If it were as simple as you say then a motion for summary judgment and removal of the lis pendens would have been successful immediately after the suit was filed.