Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Condo ownership
My husband and I married a little over 9 years ago. He had just purchased a condo about 3 months before. We have paid extra on the principle for these 9 years and the condo is now paid off. It is still only in my husband's name. Everything else we have is jointly owned. We are wondering if we need to have it changed to both of our names in case I were to outlive him. He is 11 years older than I am. He is 72 years old. The only will he has is handwritten and he doesn't have any children. Like I said before, everything else we have, including all money is in both our names. We are both agreeable on however this should be handled.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Condo ownership
Handwritten wills, technically called holographic wills, are still recognized in California if signed and dated and containing nothing but handwriting, i.e., no typing. However, relying on handwritten wills is somewhat in the same ballpark as taking out your own appendix - much safer to have a professional do it.
As to the condo, the use of funds that were presumably community-property funds to retire the mortgage has probably made you a significant part owner of the condo anyway, through being a 50%member of the community, and there doesn't seem to be anyone else "on scene" to claim a portion of his estate were he to die intestate.
However, after all is said and done, and although your affairs don't seem to be in much disarray compared with so many we hear from, I do think the two of you should sit down with a compatible estate-planning attorney in your home town and have a professional review of your situation and wishes. I don't do estate planning and I don't write trusts or wills, so this is not a sales effort. I'd suspect an estate planner would want you both to set up coordinated trusts so that your property passes one to the other at minimum tax cost, outside of probate, and minimum chance of a wannbe heir emerging from the woodwork.
Re: Condo ownership
You should strongly consider having a living trust prepared and/or having a lawyer review your situation. Depending on your assets, for example, there are a few different ways to go. Feel free to email for more information.
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