Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: home deed

It is fairly simple to prepare a new grant deed conveying the property from yourself to yourself and the new co-owner. Before proceeding, please consult with an attorney for the specific reasons you want to add someone on title. There may be unintended tax consquences to you or the new owner. Your property taxes may go up, there maybe be capital gains tax if you are selling an interest in the property and the recipient might be paying a gift tax if this is a gift.

If the person has judgments against him or her, the judgment liens might attach to the property. There are other factors that should be discussed with a local attorney.

Re: home deed

The process is maybe a little easier to understand if you think of it as adding someone to your title, rather than adding them to your deed. As Mr. Starrett points out, you add someone to title by generating a new deed conveying the desired interest.

There are several choices to make:

Grant deed vs. quitclaim deed. About the only practical difference is that the former warrants that the grantor has good title to the interest conveyed, whereas a quitclaim deed merely says "you get whatever I had, if anything."

How will the two co-owners hold title? The two main possibilities are as joint tenants and as tenants in common. The main difference is that joint tenancy carries with it the right of survivorship, which means if one joint tenant dies, the other(s) automatically get the decedent's interest, irrespective of any will or trust. I often suggest using a tenancy in common rather than a joint tenancy, because then each co-owner can dispose of his or her part interest via his or her own will or trust.

To be valid, a deed must name the grantor, the grantee, the interest conveyed, must contain an accurate legal description of the property, and should be notarized and recorded.

To create a joint tenancy, you would grant the property from yourself to yourself and the other person as joint tenants. To create a tenancy in common, you can do this also, or you can simply deed a 1/2 interest to the other person.

Finally, I concur with Mr. Starrett that you should confer with a tax or estate planning person, preferably a lawyer, before making this move. The tax consequences can be horrendous.