Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Joint tenancy and trusts
My parents, who are married in community of property, and I own the house in which we live as 3 equal joint tenants. They have a living trust in which their surviving spouse gets everything, after which it all comes to me. They now think they should transfer their interest in the house, to the trust. I suppose the trust and I will then hold the house in joint tenancy...? Can you pls advise whether this move makes any sense, including from a probate/estate duty point of view?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Joint tenancy and trusts
California law doesn't allow a trust to own property in joint tenancy with an individual. You would all be "tenants in common" - meaning that if you died before your parents, your shares would pass to the heirs you name in your will/trust (or to your "intestate heirs" if you don't have a will/trust) and your parents' interest would pass under their trust.
As long as you all have your estate planning documents set up properly (so the property goes to the person/people you want it to go to), having your parents put the property into their trust should not be a problem. You might want to consider having a trust for your share of the house, too, so that if you were to die before them, your share would not have to go through probate (that's a difference between "joint tenancy" and "tenancy in common" ownership).
This information is not intended to substitute for professional legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. You should accept legal advice only from a licensed legal professional with whom you have an attorney-client relationship.
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