Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

If you own the real property as joint tenants with your father and you pass away first, it automatically passes to your father and you cannot devise it to anyone else. In that instance, it will be subject to your father's estate planning documents or by intestate succession if he has no estate plan.

If you want to retain control over what happens to the property if you are the first to pass, then you and your father should consult an attorney about establishing a trust.

I agree with Ms. Rouse. The fact that you are on title already to the property does not mean that you have to inherit the property, other than that you may inherit your father's interest in the property. How the interests pass, though, depend on how title to the property is held, as pointed out by Ms. Rouse.

Don't try and write the will by yourself. Save yourself the headaches and pay an attorney to do it right...

The old saying still applies: "An ounce of prevention is cheaper than a pound of cure."