Page 30 - Homeowners Manual - San Luis Obispo County

COMMON WAYS TO HOLD TITLE – CALIFORNIA

How should I take ownership of the property I am buying?
The form of ownership taken (the vesting of title) will determine who may sign various documents involving the
property and future rights of the parties to the transaction. These rights involve such matters as: real property
taxes, income taxes, inheritance and gift taxes, transferability of title and exposure to creditor’s claims. Also, how
title is vested can have significant probate implications in the event of death.
Buyers may wish to consult legal counsel to determine the most advantageous form of ownership for their
particular situation, especially in cases of multiple owners of a single property.

Following is a brief list of common ways to hold title:
Sole Ownership - Sole ownership may be described as ownership by an individual or other entity capable of
acquiring title. Examples of common vesting cases of sole ownership are:

1. A Single Man or Woman, an Unmarried Man or Woman or a Widow or Widower: A man or woman who is not
legally married or in a domestic partnership. For example: Bruce Buyer, a single man.

2. A Married Man, Woman as His/ Her Sole and Separate Property: A married man or woman who wishes to
acquire title in his or her name alone. The title company insuring title will require the spouse of the married
man or woman acquiring title to specifically disclaim or relinquish his or her right, title and interest to the
property. This establishes that both spouses want title to the property to be granted to one spouse as that
spouse’s sole and separate property. For example: Bruce Buyer, a married man, as his sole and separate
property.

3. A Domestic Partner as His or Her Sole and Separate Property: A domestic partner who wishes to acquire
title in his or her name alone. The title company insuring title will require the domestic partner of the person
acquiring title to specifically disclaim or relinquish his or her right, title and interest to the property. This
establishes that both domestic partners want title to the property to be granted to one partner as that
person’s sole and separate property. For example: Bruce Buyer, a registered domestic partner, as his sole and
separate property.

Co-Ownership-Title to property owned by two or more persons may be vested in the following forms:

1. Community Property: A form of vesting title to property owned together by married persons or by domestic
partners. Community property is distinguished from separate property, which is property acquired before
marriage or before a domestic partnership by separate gift or bequest, after legal separation, or which is
agreed in writing to be owned by one spouse or domestic partner.
In California, real property conveyed to a married person, or to a domestic partner is presumed to be
community property, unless otherwise stated (i.e. property acquired as separate property by gift, bequest or
agreement). Since all such property is owned equally, both parties must sign all agreements and documents
transferring the property or using it as security for a loan. Each owner has the right to dispose of his/her
one half of the community property by will. For example: Bruce Buyer and Barbara Buyer, husband and wife,
as community property, or Sally Smith and Jane Smith, registered domestic partners as community property.
Another example for same sex couples: Sally Smith and Jane Smith, who are married to each other, as
community property.

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