Benson

I. Introduction

Under article XIII A of the California Constitution (popularly known as Prop. 13), the most common trigger of the reassessment of real property is a “change in ownership.” The initiative measure, itself, did not define change in ownership, leaving that task to the Legislature, which promptly appointed a task force to make recommendations. At the time the initiative measure was approved by California voters, joint tenancies were commonly used as an estate planning tool—parents would deed property to themselves and their children so it would pass automatically to the latter upon the death of the last surviving parent. The task force therefore proposed treating “family” joint tenancies akin to the making of a will. Since there is no change in ownership on the mere making of a will, there similarly would be no change in ownership on the creation of a family joint tenancy. Rather, change in ownership would occur when the joint tenancy terminated, frequently on the death of the last surviving parent. The Legislature adopted the task force’s recommendations, and the Legislature and the state Board of Equalization have spent the ensuing decades refining the…