Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
My question is about the reassessment of property taxes when a joint tenant dies in San Francisco, CA. My father and his unmarried opposite-sex partner owned their home in joint tenancy when he died. After his death, the property taxes were reassessed. Is the death of a joint tenant supposed to protect the surviving joint tenant against the reassessment of property taxes?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Only the half interest of the deceased joint tenant is reassessed. If the domestic partners had been registered, I believe there would have been no reassessment at all. However, without the benefit of registration, there is a reassessment UNLESS the joint tenants fall into a category known as "Original Transferors" -- a somewhat complex and to me rather silly circumstance in which, for example, each joint tenant had previously been a tenant in common in the property and had created the joint tenancy by transferring the property to themselves as joint tenants. Absent this shenanigan, the half interest of the deceased joint tenant will be reassessed. I would suggest contacting someone in the assessor's office to see if you can get a clearer explanation of the rules, specifically the concept of an "Original Transferor," and to see whether the concept might possibly apply to this (former) joint tenancy.