No. A deed of reconveyance is only to officially document the fact that you paid off your loan. This is not a transaction that would cause a change in ownership simply because there is no transfer of beneficial use.

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One of the primary purposes of placing a property into a Trust and to have a complete Estate Planning package is to avoid re-assessment of the property upon transfer to those that are inheriting the property.

If a transfer of real property results in the transfer of the present interest and beneficial use of the property, the value of which is substantially equal to the value of the fee interest, then such transfer would constitute a change in ownership unless a statutory exclusion applies.

An exclusion occurs when the assessor does not reassess a property because the property or portions of the property are automatically excluded from reassessment or is eligible to be excluded if the owner properly files a claim. The following abridged list covers most changes in ownership that are excluded from reassessment, either automatically or by claim.

Changes in ownership that require a claim to be filed to avoid reassessment include the following:

• Transfers of the principal place of residence between parents and their children (there is no limit on the value of the residence) if a completed application is filed timely with the county assessor's office (Proposition 58).
• Transfers of up to $1 million of real property between parents and their children, other than a principal place of residence, if a completed application is filed timely with the county assessor's office (Proposition 58).
• Transfers of a principal place of residence from grandparents to their grandchildren, but not vice versa (and the transfer of up to $1 million of other real property from grandparents to their grandchildren) provided that:
  • the transfer occurs on or after March 26, 1996;
  • the grandchild(ren)'s parent (grandparent's child) died on or before the date of transfer; and
  • a completed application is timely filed with the county assessor's office (Proposition 193).
• Transfers of the principal residence between two cotenants that occur upon the death of one of the cotenants, provided that:
  • The two cotenants together owned 100 percent of the property as tenants in common or joint tenants.
  • The two cotenants must be owners of record for the one-year period immediately preceding the death of one of the cotenants.
  • The property must have been the principal residence of both cotenants for the one-year period immediately preceding the death of one of the cotenants.
  • The surviving cotenant must obtain a 100 percent interest in the property.
  • The surviving cotenant must sign an affidavit affirming that he or she continuously resided at the residence for the one-year period preceding the decedent cotenant's date of death.
• The purchase of a replacement dwelling by a person who is 55 years of age or older, where the replacement dwelling will be that person's principal place of residence and is equal or lesser in value than the original residence. In such cases, the base year value of the previous home may be transferred to the new home so that the new home will not be reassessed to its current fair market value but will be able to retain the old home's base year value. The original and replacement residences must generally be located in the same county; however, as of May 2008, seven counties allow a transfer of the base year value from the original property located in another county to a replacement dwelling located in that county (Proposition 60/90).
• The purchase of a replacement property if the original property was taken by governmental action, such as eminent domain or inverse condemnation.
• The purchase of a new principal residence by a person who is severely disabled (Proposition 110-same as Propositions 60/90).
• Transfers of real property between registered domestic partners that occurred between January 1, 2000 and January 1, 2006 (section 62(p) of the Revenue and Taxation Code). County assessors are required to reverse any reassessments that resulted from any transfers of real property between registered domestic partners that occurred during this time period if the taxpayer files a timely claim. However, relief for such a reversal is applied only on a prospective basis. The registered domestic partners will not receive any refunds.

Changes in ownership that are automatically excluded from reassessment include the following:

• Transfers of real property between spouses, which include transfers in and out of a trust for the benefit of a spouse, the addition of a spouse on a deed, transfers upon the death of a spouse, and transfers pursuant to a divorce settlement or court order (section 63 of the Revenue and Taxation Code; Rule 462.220).
• Transfers of real property between registered domestic partners that occur on or after January 1, 2006, which include transfers in and out of a trust for the benefit of a partner, the addition of a partner on a deed, transfers upon the death of a partner, and transfers pursuant to a settlement agreement or court order upon termination of the domestic partnership (section 62(p) of the Revenue and Taxation Code).
• Transactions only to correct the name(s) of the person(s) holding title to real property or transfers of real property for the purpose of perfecting title to the property (for example, a name change upon marriage).
• Transfers of real property between coowners that result in a change in the method of holding title to the property without changing the proportional interests of the coowners, such as a partition of a tenancy in common.
• Transfers between an individual or individuals and a legal entity or between legal entities, such as a cotenancy to a partnership, or a partnership to a corporation, that results solely in a change in the method of holding title to the real property and in which proportional ownership interests of the transferors and the transferees, whether represented by stock, partnership interest, or otherwise, in each and every piece of real property transferred, remains the same after the transfer.
• The creation, assignment, termination, or reconveyance of a lender's security interest in real property or any transfer required for financing purposes only (for example, co-signor).
• The substitution of a trustee of a trust or mortgage.
• Transfers that result in the creation of a joint tenancy in which the transferor remains as one of the joint tenants.
• Transfers of joint tenancy property to return the property to the person who created a joint tenancy (i.e., the original transferor).
• Transfers of real property to a revocable trust, where the transferor retains the power to revoke the trust or where the trust is created for the benefit of the transferor or the transferor's spouse.
• Transfers of real property into a trust that may be revoked by the creator/grantor who is also a joint tenant, and which names the other joint tenant(s) as beneficiaries when the creator/grantor dies.
• Transfers of real property to an irrevocable trust for the benefit of the creator/grantor or the creator/grantor's spouse.

Please see the California Board of Equalization for more information:
https://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/faqs/changeinownership.htm

Contact our attorneys to make an appointment if you have further questions.

Each county assessor's office reviews all recorded deeds for that county to determine which properties require reappraisal under the law. The county assessors may also discover changes in ownership through other means, such as taxpayer self-reporting, field inspections, review of building permits and newspapers. Once the county assessor has determined that a change in ownership has occurred, Proposition 13 requires the county assessor to reassess the property to its current fair market value as of the date ownership changed.
Since property taxes are based on the assessed value of a property at the time of acquisition, a current market value that is higher than the previously assessed Proposition 13 adjusted base year value will increase the property taxes. Conversely, if the current market value is lower than the previously assessed Proposition 13 adjusted base year value, then the property taxes on that property will decrease.
Only that portion of the property that changes ownership, however, is subject to reappraisal. For example, if 50 percent of the property is transferred, the assessor will reassess only 50 percent of the property at its current fair market value as of the date of the transfer, and deduct 50 percent from any existing Proposition 13 base year value. In most cases, when a person buys a residence, the entire property undergoes a change in ownership and 100 percent of the property is reassessed to its current market value.

Contact our attorneys to make an appointment if you have further questions.

​WHAT IS A SMALL ESTATE AFFIDAVIT?
If the estate consists solely of personal property (for example a bank account) and the gross value is under $166,250, you could complete an Affidavit (or Declaration) for Collection or Transfer of Personal Property under Probate Code §13100.

This is a form that one can print out and fill out themselves.

This is not a court procedure.

It must be at least 40 days since the date of death.

This cannot be used to transfer real property (land or buildings).

All persons entitled to receive assets must sign the affidavit and the signatures must be notarized.

This form can then be presented to banks, lenders, social media companies, etc., in order to prove your ownership of the asset or account.
 
WHO CAN APPLY FOR SMALL ESTATE AFFIDAVIT?
There are quite a few successors that can file for a small estate affidavit, but they must be somehow related to the decedent in order to claim a particular item. Specifically, for example a close friend, roommate, or a fiancée cannot apply for a small estate affidavit as they don't have standing under the statute.

13101 permits a “successor of the decedent (as defined in Section 13006 of the California Probate Code) to the decedent’s interest in the described property” to file the small estate affidavit or someone permitted to file on behalf of a decedent under 13051.
 
13006 states that either persons under a will or trust or any successors as defined by sections 6401 or 6402 can apply.
 
6401 defines provisions of decedent’s share if decedent had a surviving spouse and 6402 defines the whole lineage which to follow to determine if there is a successor, which includes children, parents, grandparents, uncles, children of pre-deceased spouse, next of kin, parents of a pre-deceased spouse.

AFFIDAVIT RE REAL PROPERTY OF SMALL VALUE
If the estate consists of real property worth $20,000 or less, you can complete an Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value. This typically applies to non-developed land-ownership as the value cap is very low.

The affidavit may be filed six months after death in the county of residence.

If the decedent was a non-resident of California, the affidavit may be filed in the county where the property is located.

This is filed with the court; however, there is no hearing set.

Contact our attorneys to make an appointment if you have further questions.