Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Co-ownership doesn't go away just because you don't live in a house, or don't show interest in it or even if you don't pay the expenses of owning it. If someone is granted a share in ownership of property they own a share in the property until they grant it to someone else, they pass away, or it is taken in satisfaction of a tax, judgment or other lien. If another co-owner has invested in the property in ways that increased the value, or has paid the costs of ownership and the other co-owner has not paid their share, there are legal proceedings that can be used to obtain a court order for reimbursement before equity is shared, called a partition action, but the co-owners each continue to own their respective shares in the equity.