applies I am blinded haha

So essentially you are screwed if you go with joint tenancy. The ruling is saying if you declare bankruptcy and hold title in joint tenancy then your property is considered community property and 100% of the property will be subject to bankruptcy not just 50%.

However, if it is for probate and the property is held in joint tenancy it will NOT be considered community property and you will not receive the 100% step up but rather 50%. The government wins and you lose.

Why are they applied differently? Pretty inconsistent and unfair if you ask me. Why would it be considered separate in one instance but community in the other?

Seems so ridiculous that this person will pay $211,000 in taxes because he didn't hold title as CPWRS which wasn't even an option until 2001. Anyways thanks for taking the time to respond! This stuff is complicated haha