California Partition Law Blog
Owning property can be complicated. The purpose of this blog post is to talk about different ways to hold title, and provides information on the meaning of some common terms so the average person can better understand their rights and responsibilities with respect to their property. Different types of property ownership come with different rights. By better understanding these terms, we hope to empower people to able to make the best possible decisions when faced with difficult situations.
Undivided Interests
An undivided co-ownership exists when an entire property belongs to two or more owners. An undivided interest includes the property as a whole and the owners have the right to the entire property. Undivided interests can be characterized as a joint tenancy, where two or more individuals each own a partial and equal right to an entire property. (Civ. Code, § 683.)
Relationships are hard, and real estate relationships are even harder. People can own real estate, called “holding title,” in many different ways. One of the more common ways that non-married couples hold title to real estate is as a joint tenant. And one of the core features of a joint tenancy is a “right of survivorship,” which means that if one of the owners dies, then the other ones inherit their shares automatically without the need for the probate process.