Exeter, CA Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

"Joint tenancy" is a form of ownership that carries right of survivorship.  The term "right of survivorship" is a bit redundant, but many lawyers (me included) prefer to use it to make things crystal clear.  A deed of trust is a security instrument, given to a lender to secure repayment of a loan (or sometimes other obligations).  It works like a mortgage.  The instrument that determines how title is held is the deed.  That is usually a "grant deed."  The lender may repeat in its deed of trust how title is held on the deed, so most likely your parents' house is held in joint tenancy and no probate will be required on the death of the first of them to die.  However, at that point (following the first death) only one of them will have title to the property, and if he or she wants probate avoidance then something else will need to be done (such as creating a revocable trust).

Very interesting question. It is not clear to me if you are trying to change your name back or if you just want people to know who you really are. The two are different. For a name change, you would go to the probate court and petition for a name change. You would need to be fingerprinted and would need to explain to a judge why you are doing this. Since it has nothing to do with an intent to defraud or any such thing, the judge would very likely grant your request. There would be a brief hearing and the judge would order your name changed. The court order would then be used to change your identity with the secretary of state. You would then need to change your information with social security, as well. If you are not trying to change your name, but simply want people to verify that you are who the original birth certificate says you are, then it would depend on the situation. For example, if you were trying to inherit from someone's estate, you would need to establish your identity through probate court hearings. What documentation or evidence they would accept would depend on the court and the judge.