Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: I am confused about title and deeds

The owners of the house are the people named on the deed. There is no magical way of becoming an "owner," other than having the owner named on a deed transferring an interest to another person by way of deed. If your mother and father were the grantees on the deed in 1962, then they were both "owners" of the property. The 1985 deed would then have had to have mother AND father, as joint tenants named as grantors, then mother AND father AND sister named as grantees. After that deed your mother, father and sister would have been "owners."

Unless father died, mom could not legally have "put title in her name" without father and daughter joining in the grant. I.e., unless father died, mother, father and sister, would have had to be named as grantors, and mother alone as grantee.

In that case, mom could have then transferred title to herself and dauther as joint tenants.

Once two or more people are joint tenants (or some other form of joint ownership, such as tenants in common), one owner cannot simply transfer ownership to themself without the consent of the other owners. The only way to accomplish the removal of one of the owners is by their transferring their interest in the property to one or more of the other owners, or by filing a lawsuit for partition.

Your question proposes facts that could not exist without someone doing something wrong. I suggest you make an appointment with an attorney in your area that practices real estate law and have that attorney look at all of the deeds and whatever other documents you may have concerning this matter.

Re: I am confused about title and deeds

If you want an actual answer and legal opinion on something like this, you're going to have to consult with an attorney, who will review all the documents and your allegations and evidence in order to sort out how title is actually held. Feel free to contact me if serious about doing so.