Joint Tenancy: Definition and How It Works in California

By Eric Ridley, attorney, Ridley Law. Updated September 2026.

Joint tenancy is co-ownership in which each owner holds an equal share with a right of survivorship. When one joint tenant dies, that share passes automatically to the surviving owners, outside probate and outside any will or trust.

How it works in California

Ridley Law’s comparison of joint tenancy and a living trust covers the tradeoffs in more depth. Under Civ. Code, § 683(a), a joint interest exists only when a single deed or other document expressly declares it to be a joint tenancy; co-owners do not become joint tenants by accident. Each owner holds an equal, undivided share, and none of them can leave that share to someone else by will, because the surviving joint tenant or tenants take it automatically at death.

To clear record title after a joint tenant dies, the survivor typically records an affidavit of death under Prob. Code, §§ 210-212, along with a certified copy of the death certificate. Recording that affidavit is how title companies and county records come to reflect the change; see Ridley Law’s page on community property with right of survivorship versus joint tenancy for how a similar option works for married couples and registered domestic partners.

Why it matters

Joint tenancy keeps property out of probate for the surviving owner, but only when one owner actually outlives the other. For example, if two joint tenants die at the same time, in a common accident, there may be no surviving joint tenant left to take the property automatically, and the property can end up passing through each person’s own estate instead, probate included.

Common mistakes

Assuming joint tenancy always keeps property out of probate no matter what; it depends on a joint tenant actually surviving the other. Adding a child as a joint tenant on a deed without accounting for that child’s own creditors or divorce, since a joint tenant’s interest is exposed to both. Relying on joint tenancy instead of a trust for property meant to pass through more than two ownership changes, since each survivorship transfer needs its own paperwork to clear title.

Related terms

• Community Property with Right of Survivorship: a similar automatic-transfer option limited to spouses and registered domestic partners.
• Affidavit of Death of Joint Tenant: the document that clears record title after a joint tenant dies.
• Transfer-on-Death Deed: another way to pass real property outside probate, without giving up sole ownership during life.
• Community Property: the default way spouses hold property when they have not chosen joint tenancy or another form of title.

Part of the California estate planning glossary. For the full treatment, see 7 Key Differences in Joint Tenancy vs Trust for Californians.