Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Your facts are way too sketchy to give you a reliable response, but let me give you a scenario that might be useful.

Suppose a property, "Blackacre," is owned by X, Y and Z. Y and Z hold their interests as joint tenants with each other. X holds his interest in Blackacre as a tenant in common with Y and Z. Perfectly possible and probably fairly common. OK, now suppose that Y dies, then a couple of months later, Z dies.

The death of Y terminates the joint tenancy, and Z instantly and automatically becomes the owner of whatever interest Y had upon his death. No probate necessary.

When Z dies, there is no joint tenancy, and Z's interest (which now includes Y's former interest) passes to Z's heirs. Hopefully, Z had a will -- in which case, his interest in Blackacre will go to whomever Z designated to inherit it in the will, either as an express gift, or more likely, under residuary or other general provisions. A probate proceeding will probably be necessary, and the court and executor can figure this out. If Z didn't have a will, Blackacre will be inherited by his kin, following the intestacy rules.

X doesn't stand to increase his ownership unless Z provided for him in his will.

So, X does not become a "sole title holder" as your question seems to presuppose -- at least not under the likely scenario as I see it and as described above.

Please feel free to contact me directly (off LawGuru) if there are additional facts that might change the response, or you have additional questions.