Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

If all that is put into the account is his or your joint money and she is on the account merely so when she needs money she can ask and get it immediately, then she has no legal or equitable interest in the property. If part of it is her money and no attempt is made to exclude some of her money going to the mortgage payment and she is not paid back that sum, then she is either lending her father money that he has to pay her back or she is investing in the property and equitably would be entitled to a share of any profits based upon the percentage she is investing versus the totla costs of the house [or some other formula depending on the exact facts].

You need to clarify what the slituation is. If her father should suddenly die, she might claim all the money in the account is hers and she owns part of the house. Any tax deductions your husband takes on the house might be found inaccurate. There certainly would be bad feelings between her and you if you view the situation much differently.

Not generally if the money from the account is his. If they commingle their money, then the question becomes much more difficult to answer. If she is asserting a claim, then you may wish to have an attorney review the facts of the case in more detail, and determine if she has any true claim to assert. From what little you have posted, its impossible to provide you with any sort of concrete opinion on the matter.

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I doubt that a relative (other than a spouse) would obtain any interest, legal or equitable, by contributing to a mortgage payment. With purchase money, the answer would be different, but even if some or all of the money in that account is the daughter's, there is no theory I know of under which she gets any interest in the property whatsoever.

The thought that does occur to me is that this is a suspicious practice, and deserves an explanation. Someone may think they are accomplishing something regarding the ownership, or someone may be trying to defraud someone. You might ask why he's doing this, then ask another LawGuru question, giving us his reasons.

Or, there could be a completely innocent explanation. Joint checking accounts are sometimes set up and used by relatives for valid purposes.