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Wood v. Henley: a man repairs a dirt road past a stone cabin in a rocky Ventura County canyon, with a survey stake in the foreground

Wood v. Henley: An Absent Co-Owner Keeps Her Share

In Wood v. Henley, the California Court of Appeal held that a co-owner’s family could not take an absent owner’s half interest in Ventura County land by living on it, improving it, and paying taxes, because possession by one co-owner is possession for all.

A woman holding house keys and an older man holding a document stand on the walkway of a stucco house with a jacaranda tree

California Civil Code § 685 – What an Interest in Common Is

California Civil Code section 685 defines an interest in common, or tenancy in common: property owned by several persons, not in joint ownership or partnership. Every tenant in common can use the whole property and can partition as of right.

Four different house keys on separate key rings lying on a wooden table by a window overlooking a California street

California Civil Code § 682 – The Four Forms of Co-Ownership

California Civil Code section 682 lists the four ways several people can own property together: joint tenancy, partnership, tenancy in common, and community property. Joint tenants and tenants in common can partition as of right.

Three adult siblings sit at the kitchen table of an inherited California house, looking down at a deed

California Civil Code § 686 – Tenancy in Common Is the Default

California Civil Code section 686 makes co-owners tenants in common by default, unless the property was acquired by a partnership, the deed or will expressly declares a joint tenancy, or it was acquired as community property.

A woman signs a deed at a dining table in a California bungalow while a mobile notary stamps a page and her brother looks on with relief.

How Do I Transfer My Share of a Co-Owned Property in California?

You transfer your share of a co-owned California property by signing, notarizing and recording a deed, without your co-owner’s consent, but the deed’s wording, taxes and any loan all need attention.

A father and his adult daughter stand outside a California bungalow, each holding up an identical house key

California Civil Code § 683 – How a Joint Tenancy Is Created

California Civil Code section 683 defines a joint tenancy: two or more owners in equal shares, under one deed or will that expressly declares a joint tenancy, with a right of survivorship. Without that declaration, co-owners are tenants in common.

Woman pointing to both signatures on a signed vesting worksheet as her co-owner stands with arms crossed outside their house

Escrow Vesting Worksheet and How Co-Owners Hold Title

The vesting worksheet signed during escrow is usually why a deed says joint tenants or tenants in common. Co-owners who say they never agreed usually signed it, and the choice affects a California partition action.

A widow holds house keys and a joint tenancy deed beside a memorial photograph of her late husband.

Right of Survivorship in California: How It Affects Co-Ownership and Partition Actions

Right of survivorship lets a surviving co-owner automatically take a deceased co-owner’s share without probate, but only if title is held the right way. When the deed is unclear, disputes follow.

Estate planning folders compare joint tenancy with tenancy in common using house keys and family photographs.

Joint Tenants vs Tenants in Common – What’s the Difference?

Both joint tenants and tenants in common share ownership of the same property, but their rights differ sharply, especially when an owner dies.

Joint tenancy grant deed with matching house keys and a survivorship file.

Joint Tenancy in California

In a joint tenancy, co-owners hold equal shares with a right of survivorship. Here is how joint tenancy is created in California and what happens when it ends.