News & Commentary

Buying real estate with another person means choosing a legal form of co-ownership, and that choice controls what happens if you disagree, if one of you dies, or if either of you wants out. California law recognizes only a handful of ways to hold title jointly, and each carries different consequences for inheritance, liability, and your ability to sell.

For more than 50 years, Rogers, Sheffield & Campbell, LLP has guided Santa Barbara-area buyers through these decisions before escrow closes, when the terms are still easy to change.

What Are the Legal Ways to Co-Own Property in California?

California statute recognizes several distinct forms of co-ownership, each with different rules for control, transfer, and inheritance.

• Tenancy in Common: Each owner holds an undivided, freely transferable share of the whole property, which need not be equal, and that share passes to the owner's own heirs rather than automatically to the other co-owner.
• Joint Tenancy: Co-owners hold equal shares with a right of survivorship, so a deceased owner's interest passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant(s) outside of probate.
• Community Property (spouses or registered domestic partners): Property acquired during marriage is generally owned equally by both spouses, with its own rules for transfer and division at death or divorce.

Tenancy in common is the default form of co-ownership under California law when a deed does not specify otherwise.

How Does Title Choice Affect What Happens If a Co-Owner Dies?

Joint tenancy automatically passes a deceased owner's share to the survivors, bypassing probate entirely. Tenancy in common works differently: a deceased owner's interest becomes part of their estate and passes under their will or, without one, through intestate succession to their own heirs.

That distinction matters most for unmarried co-buyers, business partners, or family members who want their share to go to their own children rather than to a co-owner. Choosing the wrong form can quietly override what someone actually intended.

What Should Be in a Co-Ownership or Tenancy-in-Common Agreement?

A written co-ownership agreement fills the gaps left by state law. It should address each owner's percentage interest, how mortgage, tax, and maintenance costs are split, and what happens if one owner stops paying their share.

Strong agreements also set buyout terms in advance: a valuation method, a timeline, and a right of first refusal before an owner can sell to an outsider. Addressing disputes on paper, before they happen, avoids costly litigation later.

What Happens If Co-Owners Disagree or Want Out?

Any co-owner of California real property can generally file a partition action asking a court to divide or sell the property. The California Attorney General's office has explained that this right is available to a co-owner holding any percentage interest in the property.

Courts may order the property physically divided or, more commonly, for a single residence, sold with proceeds split according to ownership share. A partition action is usually slower and more expensive than resolving a disagreement through a pre-negotiated buyout.

How Rogers, Sheffield & Campbell Can Help Before You Sign

Braden R. Leck and Stephen W. Erickson, both of Rogers, Sheffield & Campbell, LLP, regularly counsel Santa Barbara-area clients on the acquisition, financing, and co-ownership structuring of residential and commercial real estate. Involving an attorney before you take title, rather than after a dispute arises, is almost always the more affordable path.

Schedule a Case Evaluation

Choosing how to hold title is one of the most consequential and most overlooked decisions in a real estate purchase. Rogers, Sheffield & Campbell, LLP has served buyers in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, and Los Angeles County since 1973 and can help you structure co-ownership to protect your interests from the start.

Contact the firm at 805-963-9721 to schedule a case evaluation before you sign.

Sources

1. California Civil Code Section 682 (forms of property co-ownership)
2. California Attorney General Opinion No. 81-704, discussing partition actions under Code of Civil Procedure Section 872.210

The information on this page is provided for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.