Matthew Taylor

For more than three decades, attorney Matthew L. Taylor has handled complex California civil litigation with a particular emphasis on court-appointed service as a partition referee and receiver. His work places him at the intersection of real estate, business operations, fiduciary responsibility, and judicial oversight, often requiring him to manage valuable assets while disputes remain unresolved.

Taylor has received more than 200 real-property partition referee appointments and has served as a receiver in dozens of matters involving real estate, operating businesses, probate disputes, judgment enforcement, divorce proceedings, and health and safety violations. In these neutral, court-supervised roles, he is responsible for preserving property, protecting its value, implementing judicial orders, and providing transparent reports and accountings to the court.

As a partition referee, Taylor oversees the sale or division of jointly owned property when co-owners are unable to reach an agreement. These assignments frequently arise from family disputes, dissolved business relationships, inheritance conflicts, and disagreements between unmarried property owners. His responsibilities may include evaluating the condition and value of the property, selecting and supervising real estate professionals, coordinating inspections and appraisals, addressing title or occupancy issues, managing escrow, and completing a court-approved sale.

Taylor’s experience encompasses residential homes, apartment buildings, rental properties, commercial and industrial real estate, vacant land, and other complex holdings. Because partition cases often involve strained relationships and competing financial interests, he approaches each appointment with neutrality, careful documentation, and a focus on maximizing value while complying with the court’s instructions.

His credentials as a licensed California real estate broker provide additional practical insight into property valuation, marketing, negotiations, disclosures, and court-supervised transactions. This combination of legal experience and real estate knowledge allows him to address both the procedural and commercial considerations that arise during partition sales.

Taylor also has extensive experience serving as a court-appointed receiver. A receiver acts as an agent of the court and may be asked to take custody of property, stabilize a business, collect income, oversee repairs, preserve records, sell assets, or prevent waste while litigation is pending. Taylor has served in receiverships involving business disputes, probate matters, divorce cases, real estate partitions, judgment collection, distressed housing, and regulated enterprises.

His operating-business receiverships have required him to assume control of active companies, evaluate their finances, maintain essential operations, supervise employees and vendors, address creditor obligations, and determine whether the enterprise should be stabilized, restructured, or sold. In other matters, he has managed real property, rehabilitated unsafe housing, conducted public auctions, sold deeds of trust, and completed court-approved sales of real and personal property.

Taylor’s receivership work also includes familiarity with motions for instructions, interim and final fee applications, discharge proceedings, appointment of professionals, and the defense of receivers against claims arising from their official duties. He has accepted appointments in Superior Court proceedings throughout Northern and Southern California, giving him broad experience with the practices and expectations of courts across the state.

His broader professional background reinforces the judgment required for these appointments. Taylor has served as a judge pro tem, special master, mediator, and Superior Court receiver. He has also maintained longstanding involvement with the California Receiver’s Forum and has served on the Board of Directors of the Western San Bernardino County Bar Association since 2008.

Taylor earned his undergraduate degree from Pomona College and his Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law. He also completed a diploma in trial advocacy skills through the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. His appellate experience includes published decisions in California and federal courts, and he is admitted before an extensive range of state and federal tribunals, including the California Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

In addition to his partition and receivership practice, Taylor represents individuals in personal injury matters, including automobile, commercial truck, construction, premises liability, and other accident-related claims. His litigation and trial background enables him to investigate negligence, evaluate medical and financial damages, negotiate with insurers, and pursue compensation for clients who have suffered serious injuries.

Whether overseeing a contested property sale, preserving a distressed asset, operating a business under court supervision, or representing an injured client, Matthew L. Taylor brings a practical, disciplined, and solution-oriented approach to complex legal matters. His extensive record of court appointments reflects the confidence placed in his neutrality, judgment, and ability to administer difficult assignments efficiently.