Johnson v. Johnson
Johnson v. Johnson
Opinion of the Court
Defendant appeals from a judgment rendered against her in an action to quiet title, tried upon an agreed statement of facts.
The sole question to he determined in this action is the validity of a homestead declared upon property held in joint tenancy. At the time of the declaration of homestead plaintiff and his wife, Minnie Johnson, were the owners of the property in controversy in this action, holding the title thereto as joint tenants. Their son, Chester Johnson, who was also defendant’s husband, had an interest in the property to the extent of seven hundred dollars, which he had paid on the purchase price of $5,200. Defendant and Chester Johnson resided upon the property and were in the exclusive possession thereof from about the time of its purchase, on August 25, 1915, until February 24, 1916, at which time Chester Johnson left defendant and went to live with his parents in Pasadena. On May 26, 1916, defendant filed her declaration of homestead upon the property. Thereafter, and on April 19, 1917, Joseph and Minnie Johnson, by grant deed, conveyed the property to Chester Johnson, and on the same day he reconveyed the property by grant deed to his parents. These deeds were recorded June 25, 1917, in the order in which they were executed.
This precise question was very recently passed upon by the supreme court in the
Estate of Carraghar,
181 Cal. 15, [183 Pac. 161], in which it is remarked that the decisions of the courts of this state since the adoption of the codes in 1872, as well as prior to the adoption of the statute of 1868, have been uniform in holding that a valid homestead cannot be declared upon property held in joint tenancy or tenancy in common. For the purpose of showing that that statute has never been recognized by the supreme court since the adoption of the codes in 1872, the opinion in the
Estate of Carraghar
reviews many cases on this subject, decided since then, including those in which the facts were such as to make the act of 1868 applicable if still in force. It discusses the homestead law as embraced in the Civil Code and Code of Civil Procedure, and after elaborating upon its reasons therefor, holds that the statute of 1868 was abrogated by the adoption of the codes. This case finally determines that a homestead cannot be impressed upon property held in joint tenancy or tenancy in common.
The judgment is affirmed.
Langdon, P. J., and Brittain, J., concurred.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- JOSEPH JOHNSON, Respondent, v. GRACE JOHNSON, Appellant
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- 1 case
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- Published