Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

If her name is still on the title of the first house, she is pretty well protected already. When title is held as tenants in common the law presumes equal shares unless the deed states otherwise or the parties have a separate agreement to the contrary, so she presumably has a 50% interest.

The other co-tenant cannot refinance or sell the house without her signature. He could, however, sell his half interest to someone else without her consent.

The perfect solution, of course, would be for the other co-tenant to buy her half interest. If he does not have sufficient cash to buy her interest but is willing to make payments, she could contact an attorney to have either a contract for sale or a deed, promissory note and deed of trust drawn up to secure a payment plan. An attorney can explain the pros and cons of those options.

In addition to what Ms. Ortega has explained so well, I would point out that there exists a possibility that the marital community of the widower and his deceased wife acquired a so-called "pro tanto" interest in the property during the years before her death. Such an interest could arise due to, for example, the widower having used community assets or income to pay "his" share of the down payment and/or to make mortgage payments. If there were a community interest at the time of her death, that interest would pass in part to him and in part, perhaps, to others. This rather nebulous possible interest would not show up in the public records, but could potentially be asserted successfully in court. A family law attorney could advise you in greater detail about a possible pro-tanto interest held by the wife's heirs other than her husband.

I assume you are the woman in the question. Well, the deed of the house should show the two of you as tenants in common. That is certainly evidence of the shared nature of the property between you and him. If there is no other evidence, then you would have to prove in court that a verbal agreement existed between you two to own the house 50/50 as tenants in common. Evidence of that would include factors such as, who paid the mortgage all these years, other witnesses with knowledge of the facts, etc.

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