Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

There should be a recorded deed from the person removing their name from title to the other owners.

First, there are two possible senses in which a name can be "removed from title." One possible meaning is that X's name, which once was on the title documents to Blackacre and thus showed up in the public records as having some interest in Blackacre, has been physically expunged from the records. Anyone going to the recorder's office and looking up the ownership records for Blackacre will no longer find X as a former owner. His name is gone.

More frequently, a name is "removed from title" by some later action, such as X selling his interest in Blackacre to Y. Such transactions should be recorded when they occur and will result in title records showing X's name, but showing that he is no longer the owner.

The first type of removal ordinarily requires a court order expunging the record. The second type of removal requires a transaction of some kind, usually a sale, but other types of transactions can result in a change of ownership and hence removal of a name from current title.

For most purposes, a careful title search by a trained searcher will be adequate to give reasonable assurance that X has been removed from title to Blackacre. Real estate lawyers will either do this or farm out the work to a specialist, often a title company.

Rarely, an instrument affecting title will go unrecorded. The effect of such instruments often will depend upon whether you knew or suspected their existence. If you know of an unrecorded instrument floating around out there somewhere, it may behoove you to obtain a recordable copy and have it recorded.

Being "100% sure" sounds challenging......I hope that "reasonably certain" is an acceptable substitute. If in doubt, consult with an experienced real estate attorney.