How Should You Hold Title to Your Brentwood Home?

You're near the end of escrow on a Brentwood home. The escrow officer asks how you'd like to take title, and there's a pause. Someone says "joint tenancy, I guess," and it gets typed onto the deed. Most people choose it in about four seconds. It deserves longer than that.

I spent years on the lending, title, and escrow side before I ever sat across a table as an agent. The vesting line is the part almost nobody reads and the part that causes the most grief later.

Does this apply to me?

If you own a home or are buying one, yes. Pull out the grant deed from your purchase. Somewhere after your names you'll find a phrase like as joint tenants, as community property with right of survivorship, or as trustees of the Smith Family Trust.

That phrase does two jobs. It says who owns the house, and it says what happens to that ownership when one owner dies. It then sits there for decades doing exactly what it says.

If you can't find your deed, the Contra Costa County Recorder keeps a copy of every recorded deed. The office is at 555 Escobar Street in Martinez, (925) 335-7900.

What are the main ways to hold title in California?

The common vesting choices

• Sole ownership — one name. On death, the home passes under the will or by intestate succession, which is where probate comes in.
• Tenancy in common — two or more owners with separate shares. No survivorship: each share passes through that owner's own estate. Under Civil Code § 686, this is the default when a deed doesn't say otherwise.
• Joint tenancy — equal shares with a right of survivorship. It has to be expressly declared on the deed.
• Community property with right of survivorship — for spouses. The deed has to expressly declare it, and the grantees sign or initial a statement accepting it.
• Held in a living trust — the trustee holds title, and the trust document decides what happens next.

Joint tenancy is the vesting I see most often on older Brentwood deeds. It works: when one owner dies, the survivor takes the whole house without going through probate. But for married couples there's another option that deserves a look.

Why spouses often look hard at community property

This is about the tax basis when the surviving spouse eventually sells.

When someone dies, the property they leave generally takes a new tax basis equal to its fair market value on the date of death. That's the "stepped-up basis," and it's set out in 26 U.S.C. § 1014.

How much of the house gets that step-up depends on vesting. IRS Publication 551 explains that with spouses holding as joint tenants, only half the value is included in the estate, so only the deceased spouse's half is stepped up. With community property, the total value generally becomes the basis of the whole property — both halves.

For a couple who bought in Brentwood decades ago, that difference can matter a great deal when the survivor sells. Since July 1, 2001, Civil Code § 682.1 has let spouses pair community property with a right of survivorship, so you don't have to choose between the tax treatment and avoiding probate.

I'm not a tax advisor, and this is exactly the question to bring to a CPA. Just know the question exists before you sign, not after.

What about the $750,000 probate number?

As of April 1, 2025, California lets an heir file a simplified court petition, instead of full probate, when the home was the decedent's primary residence and its gross value is $750,000 or less, and at least 40 days have passed since the death. The ceiling is adjusted every three years under Probate Code § 890.

Two things to notice. "Gross" means the value of the house, not the equity — a mortgage doesn't bring an $800,000 home under the line. And that ceiling sits close to what a typical Brentwood home sells for, so the appraisal can decide which process a family faces. My September market update has the current local numbers.

This petition matters most when nobody planned ahead. A survivorship vesting, a living trust, or a transfer on death deed can each move a home outside probate regardless of its value. I walk through the heir's side of this in Inherited a Brentwood Home?.

Transfer on death deeds: two rules people miss

California's revocable transfer on death deed names a beneficiary who receives the home when you die, with no probate, and you keep full control while you're alive. Under Probate Code § 5624, it only works if all three of these happen:

1. You sign and date it.
2. Two witnesses sign it, both present at the same time.
3. It's acknowledged before a notary.

The two-witness rule arrived with SB 315, effective January 1, 2022, and it catches anyone working from an older form.

Then there's the deadline. Under Probate Code § 5626, the deed isn't effective unless it's recorded within 60 days of notarization. Sign it, put it in a drawer, record it four months later, and you have a piece of paper with no legal effect. I've seen exactly that happen.

The law is currently set to sunset January 1, 2032 unless the Legislature extends it. A deed properly executed before then keeps its effect.

Changing your vesting later

You can change how you hold title without selling. It's done by recording a new deed between the current owners. Have an attorney prepare it, and read your loan documents first.

At the Recorder's window, any deed that changes ownership needs a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report, the PCOR. Under Revenue & Taxation Code § 480.3, the Recorder won't record it without one unless you pay an extra $20 fee, and one of the new owners has to sign it. The $20 won't hurt anyone. A carelessly filled-out form can, because it's how the Assessor learns about the transfer. Questions about the PCOR go to the Assessor's office at (925) 313-7400.

Transfers between spouses are generally excluded from reassessment under Revenue & Taxation Code § 63. Other changes, like adding an adult child to the deed, can be a different story. That's a conversation for your attorney before anything gets recorded.

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Not sure how your deed reads? Send me your address. I'll help you find the recorded deed, point to the vesting line, and tell you which questions to take to your attorney — whether or not you're thinking about moving.

Call or text (925) 200-0717. You'll get me, not a call center.

This post is general information, not legal or tax advice. How you hold title affects inheritance, taxes, and more, and the right answer depends on your own situation. Talk with a California estate planning attorney and a CPA before changing your vesting or recording a transfer on death deed. Dollar thresholds and dates are current as of October 2026 and can change.

Margie Lupo, Broker Associate, SRES® · eXp Realty of Northern California, Inc. · DRE #01193496 · Brokerage DRE #02188495 · Equal Housing Opportunity

Sources

• California Probate Code § 13151 — primary residence, $750,000 gross value, 40 days. Accessed October 2026.
• California Courts Self-Help Guide, When formal probate may not be needed — $750,000 limit for deaths on or after April 1, 2025. Accessed October 2026.
• California Probate Code § 890 — three-year adjustment of probate dollar thresholds. Accessed October 2026.
• California Probate Code § 5624 — transfer on death deed signing, two witnesses, notary. Accessed October 2026.
• California Probate Code § 5626 — 60-day recording requirement. Accessed October 2026.
• California Probate Code § 5600 — January 1, 2032 sunset. Accessed October 2026.
• National Notary Association, CA Senate Bill 315 — effective January 1, 2022. Accessed October 2026.
• California Civil Code § 682.1 — community property with right of survivorship. Accessed October 2026.
• California Civil Code § 683 — joint tenancy must be expressly declared. Accessed October 2026.
• California Civil Code § 686 — tenancy in common as the default. Accessed October 2026.
• 26 U.S. Code § 1014 — basis of property acquired from a decedent. Accessed October 2026.
• IRS Publication 551, Basis of Assets — qualified joint interest vs. community property basis. Accessed October 2026.
• Contra Costa County Superior Court, Decedents' Estates — property that may not be subject to probate. Accessed October 2026.
• Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder, Preliminary Change of Ownership Report — PCOR requirement, grantee signature, Recorder and Assessor contacts. Accessed October 2026.
• California Revenue & Taxation Code § 480.3 — $20 fee without a PCOR. Accessed October 2026.
• California Revenue & Taxation Code § 63 — interspousal transfer exclusion. Accessed October 2026.