Most California homeowners have never read the single most important line on their deed: the vesting, the few words after your name that decide who controls your home, what happens when an owner dies, and how much tax your family may pay. This checklist walks you through finding it, reading it, and knowing whether it is quietly working against you.
Step-by-step checklist
1. Find your deed
Look for the Grant Deed from your closing packet. Can't find it? Request a copy from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder (lavote.gov).
2. Read the line after your names
It will say something like "as joint tenants," "as community property," "as community property with right of survivorship," "as tenants in common", or, for one owner, "a single woman/man" or "an unmarried person."
3. Match it to the table below
Find your vesting and read what actually happens at death. This is what your deed does, regardless of what anyone told you at closing.
4. Check every co-owned asset, not just the house
Bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and other property have title too. A plan that covers the house but not the accounts is half a plan.
5. Ask the "both of us" question
If you co-own with a spouse or partner: what happens if you are both in the same accident? If your answer relies on survivorship, your plan has a hole in it.
6. Ask the incapacity question
If illness or injury left you unable to sign documents, who has legal authority to manage the home: refinance, pay the property taxes, or sell if needed? A deed never answers this. Only a plan does.
7. Check who inherits, and how
Minor children cannot hold title. Adult children inherit outright at 18. Children from a prior marriage can be unintentionally disinherited by survivorship. If any of these apply, note them.
8. Decide whether your title needs a plan behind it
If any box above raised a question you could not answer, that is the sign. A revocable living trust resolves every one of them, and your first consultation is free.
What each vesting means at death
| Vesting on your deed | First death | Second death | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joint tenants | Survivor takes all, no probate | Full probate | Survivorship fails if owners die together; only half step-up in basis for spouses; first owner to die loses all say |
| Community property | Deceased's half passes by will, meaning probate without a trust | Full probate | Full double step-up in basis (the big tax advantage), but no automatic survivorship |
| Community property w/ right of survivorship | Survivor takes all, no probate | Full probate | Best of the raw vestings for married couples, but still no answer for incapacity, children, or simultaneous death |
| Tenants in common | Deceased's share goes through their estate, meaning probate without a trust | Probate again | No survivorship at all; common for unmarried partners and siblings |
| Sole ownership (single owner) | Full probate without a trust or other plan | No one automatically has authority to step in, for the home or for you | |
The pattern: every raw vesting ends in probate eventually. Title held in a revocable living trust skips probate at every death, covers incapacity, and puts you, not the court, in charge of who inherits and when.
Estate Planning: Explained
Attorney Maria V. Primushko walks through title, probate, and living trusts in plain English. Zoom, 12:00 to 1:00 PM, free. Bring this guide and your questions.
Save My SeatThis guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every family's circumstances are unique. Attorney Advertising. Contact MVP Law Group for a consultation tailored to your situation.