Representation of Brooklyn property owners, heirs, and estate fiduciaries in deed fraud, quiet title, fraudulent conveyance, partition, and HECM foreclosure matters before the Kings County Supreme Court Civil Term at 360 Adams Street.
Michel Law represents Kings County property owners, heirs, estate executors and administrators, and bona fide purchasers in contested real property matters before the Kings County Supreme Court at 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn.
Brooklyn has one of the most pronounced deed fraud problems in New York State, concentrated in historically Black neighborhoods including Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, East New York, Flatbush, and Brownsville. The firm represents heirs recovering wrongfully transferred brownstones and homes, and estate fiduciaries resolving title defects that arise in administration.
Current matters include HECM reverse-mortgage foreclosure defense in Franklin Avenue and related Bedford-Stuyvesant properties. Every matter is handled directly by the managing attorney, Fabrice K. Michel.
Litigation to set aside forged, fraudulent, or wrongfully procured deeds affecting Brooklyn residential property. Recovery of brownstones and multi-family homes transferred without authority.
Defense of reverse-mortgage foreclosure actions brought by servicers including Compu-Link / Celink. Representation of heirs and surviving spouses facing foreclosure after the borrower’s death.
Actions to determine rights, encumbrances, and adverse claims against Kings County real property.
Claims to set aside transfers made with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors or heirs.
Partition in kind and partition by sale of jointly owned Brooklyn property, including heirs’ property matters.
Resolution of real property issues arising in estate administration before the Kings Surrogate — wrongful transfers before death, elective-share disputes, and property subject to contested probate.
Jurisdiction: All actions affecting title to Kings County real property, including quiet title under RPAPL Article 15, deed cancellation, fraudulent conveyance claims, partition actions, and mortgage foreclosure. Related ancillary proceedings before the Kings Surrogate at 2 Johnson Street.
A forged deed is void from the start and conveys nothing — even to a bona fide purchaser. Representation begins with filing a notice of pendency in the Kings County Clerk’s office, commencing a quiet-title action under RPAPL Article 15, and if criminal conduct is involved, coordinating with the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. The window for action is often narrow because the property can be flipped quickly through intermediaries.
A HECM is a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage — a federally insured reverse mortgage available to borrowers age 62 and older. When the borrower dies, the loan becomes due and payable, and the servicer typically commences foreclosure within months unless heirs act to pay off the loan, refinance, or sell the property. HUD regulations provide heirs with specific rights, including the ability to purchase the property for 95% of appraised value even if the loan balance is higher. Early engagement with the servicer is critical.
Yes. Under RPAPL Article 9, any co-tenant may bring a partition action in Kings County Supreme Court. The court will order partition in kind if the property is physically divisible without material prejudice, or partition by sale with proceeds distributed according to ownership interests. New York’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act provides additional procedural protections where the property qualifies as heirs’ property.
Contested quiet title actions in Kings typically run twelve to twenty-four months. Matters complicated by serial bankruptcy filings extend longer; aggressive E.D.N.Y. in rem relief shortens them. The firm pursues summary judgment where the record permits.
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