Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Spouse addition Grant Deed

There are basically 4 ways to hold joint title:

1. Tenants in Common, where each person owns 50%, undivided interest (unless a different percentage is stated in the deed). There is no right of survivorship, so each person can will their share or it would be inherited according to statute.

2. Joint tenancy, which provides for right of survivorship. This means if one person dies, the other automatically receives the other half of the property with no probate.

3. Community property, which is like tenants in common, but is only available to married couples. This has some additional tax benefits.

4. Community property, with right of survivorship.

It sounds as if you want the other person to have 50% ownership as a tenant in common. You can then create a separate joint ownership for your half with your husband, based on one of the examples above. A lot will depend on what you are trying to accomplish, and whether or not you have other property in your estate.

Let me know if I can help.

Re: Spouse addition Grant Deed

I have to assume that the property which you live on was not purchased by you in your husband with community property. The answer your question is quite simple in part by very difficult because of the nature of how people hold title. Fifty depends on the source of the funds of the acquisition, the intent of the parties during their life and at time of death and potential tax effects in the future. Generally speaking you would take your 50 percent interest and transferred to yourself in your husband as tenants in common. That will give each of you and equal 25 percent interest in the property. You can give unequal percentages in your 50 percent of the property by a transfer still in tenants in common, for example an undivided 35 percent interest in acts and an undivided 15 percent interest in Y. holding something in community property is quite different than holding something as a tendon in common and will have different effects. Additionally, if you give your 1/2 of your 50 percent interest your husband this should not have a tax effect in any manner. Transfers between husbands and wives during their lifetimes generally speaking in California as well as the federal government are tax-free. Even so, this may have a tax effect in your overall estate and estate plan. If you are concerned about any of these potential effects please see an attorney. As I said to do this is very easy yet it has numerous effects of which you may not be aware.