Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: property deed

If no money is going to change hands, and the aunt's only reason for being on title was to secure a loan she made which has been repaid, I think the property can be quitclaimed back without either a gift tax or property tax consequence.

This is not the right way to secure a loan, of course. She and he should have used a promissory note decured by a deed of trust, rather than a deed, but now that it's past history, a properly drawn-up quitclaim is one way to un-do the transfer. Another way might be for the aunt to set up a living trust naming you or your husband or both as beneficiaries, but this may be unnecessarily complicated.

I would advise having a lawyer or a title company assist you with drawing up the deed and recording it with the proper information on it so it is not going to trigger a reassessment.