More than a century ago, the family of a Mexican vaquero settled in San Juan Capistrano, building a modest two-bedroom house and tending its large garden. The forebears of the vaquero, Jose Manuel Polonio Rios, would ultimately lend their name to the neighborhood -- the Los Rios Historic District.
For the descendants of Jose Rios, the old wood-frame house has been a source of frustration. On and off for 80 years, they have sniped over the fate of the home, one of the county's longest-running probate cases.
"Typically, most cases close within 12 to 18 months. But this is one of the oldest and very rare," said Linda Martinez, senior attorney with the county's Probate Department.
The home has been in probate since 1925. The dispute has gone on for so long that the modest house is now estimated to be worth more than $1 million.
For years, the Refugia Rios home dispute centered on who should administer the property, but more recently the argument has focused on whether the family should sell or keep the house, a block from Mission San Juan Capistrano and in one of California's oldest neighborhoods.
"This is our birthright, our homeland; we can't sell this property," said Joyce Perry, 50, of Irvine, who is trying to encourage family members to buy the house from the estate.
But Perry's second cousin Sylvia Hawk, 64, of Yorba Linda wants to sell the property and split the proceeds among family members. "It's time to move on," Hawk said. The feud has escalated to the point where some relatives speak to each other only through attorneys.
Built on less than an acre, the house was originally deeded in 1876 to Calixtra Bonyones. It was later acquired by Rios, a Mexican vaquero, whose wife, Refugia Rios, was Bonyones' daughter, according to court documents.
After Jose Rios died, his wife was the rightful owner. When she died without leaving a will on March 1, 1925, the probate dispute took form.
According to case records, three family members squabbled over the title then. Court documents from 1937 show the estate was still in dispute.
For the next 70 years, family members moved in and out of the house with little fanfare, even though no legal heir was determined. From time to time there were family skirmishes, but most were resolved quickly.
Currently, the Los Rios Street house is occupied by Bertha Carter, who is Perry's aunt and Hawk's cousin. The house sits on a tree-lined street, flanked by refurbished homes that are tourist attractions. Its roof sags and its faux brick siding is peeling.
