Ways to Take Title to Your California Home

There are a number of ways you can take title to your new home in California, and the way you choose to do it will depend on your specific circumstances. First, a necessary legal disclaimer: These summarized tips are meant to be informational only and are not meant to provide legal advice. Please consult your attorney before making any decision as important as this one. Second, the handy chart below was provided by our friend, Tonya Gibson at Fidelity National Title in Roseville.

One of the more common ways that a couple, for example, might decide to take title to their new California home is through Joint Tenancy (see chart below). One of the benefits of this form of ownership is that it features the right of survivorship, meaning that if one of the parties passes away, title immediately passes to the surviving party (or parties), via Survivorship, as opposed to having to go through a lengthy probate.

Trusts are another common way for people to hold title to their home (see chart above), and trusts carry with them some unique benefits. As opposed to some of the other ways to hold title, a trust differs in that it is not merely a stated option; a trust agreement is a document that has to be created and property executed by the parties. Normally, you would see things specified in the trust like who the Trustee(s) are, who are the beneficiaries are, etc.

You can see here that there are a lot of options. We hope these tips will be helpful, and if you or anyone you know is interested in buying or selling a home here in Northern California, be sure to contact us.