(a)A joint interest is one owned by two or more persons in equal shares, by a title created by a single will or transfer, when expressly declared in the will or transfer to be a joint tenancy, or by transfer from a sole owner to himself or herself and others, or from tenants in common or joint tenants to themselves or some of them, or to themselves or any of them and others, or from spouses, when
holding title as community property or otherwise to themselves or to themselves and others or to one of them and to another or others, when expressly declared in the transfer to be a joint tenancy, or when granted or devised to executors or trustees as joint tenants. A joint tenancy in personal property may be created by a written transfer, instrument, or agreement.
(b)Provisions of this section do not apply to a joint account in a financial institution if Part 2 (commencing with Section 5100) of Division 5 of the Probate Code applies to such account.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
44
cases (
3 in the last 5 years), 1937–2025 · leading case:
Est. of MacDonald, 794 P.2d 911 (Cal. 1990).
Est. of MacDonald, 794 P.2d 911 (Cal. 1990).
· cites it 4× “Pursuant to section 683, a joint tenancy may be created by certain transfers, including one "from a husband and wife, when holding title as community property or otherwise to themselves and others or to one of them and to another or others, when expressly declared in the…”
Est. of O'Connor v. O'Connor, 224 Cal. Rptr. 3d 243 (Cal. Ct. App. 5th 2017).
· cites it 3× “) Initially, Civil Code section 683 was applied to cases concerning bank accounts, real property, and other types of personal property.”
Lee v. Yang, 2003 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 7482 (Cal. Ct. App. 2003).
· cites it 6× “The trial court held that; (1) Civil Code section 683, subdivision (a), defining a joint interest as one owned in equal shares, applied to the funds Janet withdrew from the B of A accounts, not the California Multiple-Party Accounts Law (CAMPAL); 1 (2) the three-part B of A…”
Propst v. Stillman, 788 P.2d 628 (Cal. 1990).
· cites it 2× “(Civ. Code, § 683; Estate of Harris, supra [apparently referring to Harris I, supra, 169 Cal.”
Byrne v. Laura, 97 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 1123 (Cal. Ct. App. 1997).
· cites it 2× “The text of the order granting the motion for summary adjudication, with bracketed inserts added, reads in full as follows: “Defendant’s motion for summary adjudication of causes of action is Granted as to all causes of action except the sixth [quantum meruit] cause of action.”
Seibert v. Seibert, 90 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 9257 (Cal. Ct. App. 1990).
· cites it 4× “Essentially, it is an alleged oral agreement to recreate a joint tenancy.”
Est. of Bibb, 2001 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 1708 (Cal. Ct. App. 2001).
“) Under this principle, Civil Code section 683 was interpreted so as to ensure “that a court need not look beyond the face of the proffered writing to determine whether its writer intended to create a joint tenancy.”
Evangelho v. Presoto, 98 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8084 (Cal. Ct. App. 1998).
“(Civ. Code, § 683, subd. (b); 3 Witkin, Summary of Cal.”
Riddle v. Harmon, 7 A.L.R. 4th 1261 (Cal. Ct. App. 1980).
“1 Civil Code section 683, as amended in 1955, provides in relevant part that: “A joint interest is one owned by two or more persons in equal shares, by a title created by a single will or transfer, when expressly declared in the will or transfer to be a joint tenancy, or by…”
Grothe v. Cortlandt Corp., 92 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 10256 (Cal. Ct. App. 1992).
“(Civ. Code § 683; Cole v. Cole (1956) 139 Cal.”
Est. of Castiglioni, 95 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8781 (Cal. Ct. App. 1995).
· cites it 3× “The primary consistencies to be discerned between the murder-suicide joint tenancy situation and the indefinitely surviving joint tenant murderer situation are the inchoate rights, with survivorship, that are incident to the creation of a joint tenancy.”
— Cal. Civil Code § 683(a) — 1 case
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