Adding or Changing Names on Property (Completing and Recording Deeds)

When property changes hands, the county charges a one-time tax of $.55 per $500 of the value of the real estate (1.1%). Some kinds of transfers are exempt. If yours is exempt, enter the Revenue and Taxation code that provides the exemption, and an explanation, then sign. If yours is not exempt, calculate the dollar amount and write it in.

Common exemption codes and explanations:

• Gift (transferring property, or adding name to property, without compensation):
  Code: “R&T 11911” Explanation:“Gift.”
• Living Trust (transfer into or out of revocable living trust):
  Code: “R&T 11930” Explanation: “Transfer into or out of a trust”
• Name Change (confirming name change after marriage or court-ordered name change):Code: “R&T 11925” Explanation: “Confirming change of name, the grantor and grantee are the same party.”
• Conveyances in dissolution of marriage:
  Code: “R&T 11927” Explanation: “Dissolution of marriage.”

Other exemptions may be available. See the list of “Transfer Tax Exemptions” on the Sacramento Recorder’s website.

There is an additional $75 fee on mortgage refinances and other real estate transactions that are exempt from Documentary Transfer Tax. Some exceptions apply. Contact your county recorder’s office to determine the total amount you will need to pay.

Grantor(s): The current owner or person transferring the property rights or part of the property rights. This is the person or people who will sign this deed.

Grantee(s): List all people who are receiving property rights from the grantor(s). If the grantor is staying on title, be sure to list the grantor’s name as one of the grantees also.

It’s often helpful to include the grantors’ and grantees’ marital status.

When there is more than one grantee, you will need to specify the form of title. It can also be helpful to do that if a grantee is a married person or domestic partner.

Here are examples of common title phrases:

• One owner, not married: generally no form of title is needed.
• Tenants in Common: [Names of the co-owners], as tenants in common. If shares are unequal, specify percent or fraction owned by each.
  • John Doe, A 50% interest, Jeffrey Doe, a 25% interest, and Paula Smith, a 25% interest, as tenants in common
• Joint tenants: [Names of co-owners], as joint tenants.
  • John Doe, Jeffrey Doe, and Paula Smith, as joint tenants
• Community property: [Names of the spouses/DPs,] “as community property.”
  • Pat Jones-Larsen and Jan Jones-Larsen, as community property
• Community property with right of survivorship: [Names of the spouses/DPs], “as community property WROS” or “as community property with right of survivorship.”
  • Pat Jones-Larsen and Jan Jones-Larsen, as community property with right of survivorship (WROS)
• Married person as separate property: [Name of owner,] “a married person, as his/her/their sole and separate property”
  • Pat Jones-Larsen, a married person, as their sole and separate property
• Property placed into a trust: [Name(s) of trustee(s)], as trustee(s) of the [name and date of the trust]
  • Janet and Lewis Campbell, as trustees of the Campbell Family Living Trust, dated January 3, 2017
• Partnership: [Fictitious business name, if any] or [names of partners], a partnership
  • Elm Street Books, a partnership
  • Janet Smith and Mark Baker, a partnership
• Corporation or LLC: [Name of corporation], a [state of incorporation] corporation or [Name of LLC], a [state of registration] limited liability company
  • Acme, Inc., a Delaware corporation 
  • Initech, LLC, a California Limited Liability Company

Here is a quick reference chart comparing common forms of title.

If you change your name (by court-ordered name change, marriage, or divorce), deeds made out to your old name should be updated. Make out a new grant deed from yourself ([new name], who acquired title under the former name [old name]) as Grantor to yourself ([new name]) as Grantee. For example:

In some situations, after a property owner dies, a new owner receives the property without having to go through probate, just by recording an affidavit. Common examples include people who own the property together as joint tenants or community property with right of survivorship, and people who inherit property via a transfer on death (TOD) deed. For more information, see our guide on Affidavits of Death: Transferring Property without Probate.

The new owner removes the prior owner from the deed by filing an Affidavit of Death of Joint Tenant, Affidavit of Surviving Spouse, or Affidavit of Death of Transferor under TOD Deed.

This is legally sufficient to change ownership, but the lack of a deed showing the new owner’s name can be confusing and lead to problems when selling or refinancing the property. The new owners can make the chain of title (history of ownership) clearer by recording a Grant Deed showing themselves as the Grantee. Here’s how:

Fill out a standard Grant Deed for the property. The new owner will list themselves as both the Grantor and the Grantee. For example, if Chris Jones was a surviving joint tenant on property, after they recorded an Affidavit of Death of Joint Tenant, they could fill out a grant deed like this:

This is the full description of the property, not just the address. It may be brief or very long and full of legalese. It must match the current deed exactly.

You may want to photocopy the legal description and attach it to the new deed as an exhibit, especially if it is too long to fit on the page.

If a piece of real estate is part of a probate case, once the case is resolved the personal representative (executor or administrator) must record documentation showing that it is now owned by the heir or heirs. They can either:

• record a certified copy of the judge’s Order for Final Distribution, or
• record a deed from the personal representative to the beneficiary.

Because the Order is bulky and may have personal and financial information, recording a deed is often preferred. The deed must reference the legal description of the property, the county and case number of the probate case, and the date and title of the order authorizing distribution, state that there is no representation, warranty, or covenant of any kind, and be signed by the personal representative “as executor or administrator of the Estate of ________.”

Here is example wording of a Deed to Real Property that can be customized to fit your needs. The sample is worded for a probate that includes a will. If your situation does not include a will, you would state that you are “administrator of the estate” instead of “executor of the will.”