Shayesteh
Shayesteh v. Welch CA4/1
Opinion
Opinion
Huffman, J.
I.
BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL FACTS
Shayesteh and Welch are sisters who immigrated to the United States in the late 1970s. Both women married. Shayesteh eventually divorced her husband in 2009 after they were separated for many years. In the early 2000s, Shayesteh feared her husband would somehow take any money she had, even after they were separated, so she looked for a safe place to hide the money. She asked her sister Welch to safeguard or invest the money in real estate on Shayesteh’s behalf. Shayesteh testified that she gave Welch $1,500 each month for safekeeping between 2001 and 2004. She also testified that she gave income tax refunds and child support payments to Welch, and that the funds added up to about $100,000.
In 2004, Welch and her husband Timothy2 purchased 240 North
Cypress Avenue, Santa Clara, California as an investment property.3 Welch
Further section references are to the Evidence Code. We refer to Timothy Welch by his first name to avoid confusion.
2 paid the down payment from her separate money. The house was titled to Welch and Timothy as joint tenants; Shayesteh was not named on the deed but believed her name would be added when Timothy…