How to:
Alameda County Law Library
Sacramento County Law Library
Forms and instructions:
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- Grant Deed and Instructions from the Sacramento County Law Library
- Quitclaim Deed and Instructions from the Sacramento County Law Library
- Alameda County Preliminary Change of Ownership Report from the California Assessor Portal
- Recordable and transactional form templates and instructions developed by Sacramento County Law Library, including Grant Deeds; Quitclaim Deeds; Affidavit of Death; Homestead; Transfer on Death Deed; Mechanics Lien; Power of Attorney
- Blank Recordable Form Template (DOC) | Blank Recordable Form Template – Google Doc
Library Books:
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- Deeds for California Real Estate, by Mary Randolph. Reference Desk, KFC170 .R36 2010
- How to Change Your Name in California, by Lisa Sedano, Chapter 10, Changing Your Name in Government and Business Records. Reference Desk, KFC109.S5 2014
- How to Probate an Estate in California, Chapter 8, “Transferring Title to Real Property” and Chapter 12, “How to Transfer Trust Property.” Reference Desk, KFC205 .Z9 N57 2021 — Stack 108B
- Make Your Own Living Trust, Chapter 11, “Transferring Property to Your Trust” KF734 .C58 2017 Shelf 108B
- Recorders’ document reference and indexing manual : a training and reference manual for state-wide recording and indexing personnel. Reference Desk, KFC826 .R43 This source contains many recording document templates with lists of information needed for each form. Use these samples with the Blank Recordable Form Template to create your own form.
E-Books
Nolo Press books online: Through EBSCO, patrons can access several Nolo Press title to help answer questions about deed. These titles are available online:
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- How to Probate an Estate in California
- Make Your Own Living Trust,
To access these titles online, go to the sign in to the law library’s Legal Information Source page on EBSCO. User ID: alamedacll / Password: Alameda2026!
Free Legal Help
Alameda County Property Transfer Clinic
The Property Transfer Legal Clinic offers free 30-minute consultations with an attorney to help Alameda County residents understand property transfers, reassessment exclusions, and what to do with property after the death of a loved one. For more information visit the County Assessor’s website
Make an appointment: The clinic is on the third Friday of every month. Appointments for the following month are listed on the Monday after the clinic.
Community Legal Assistance Saturday Program (CLASP)
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- CLASP offers a monthly, free clinic open to the public. This phone clinic occurs on the first Saturday of the month except for January and July. Volunteer attorneys meet with individuals for 15–20 minute phone consultations.
- Flyer for more information (PDF)
Pope Francis Legal Clinic
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- Volunteer attorneys are available for free consultation on all cases involving those burdened with legal problems, regardless of religious or financial backgrounds.
- Consultations by appointment only. Call (510) 893-4711
- Address: The Cathedral of Christ the Light, 2121 Harrison Street, Oakland, CA 94612-3788
- For more information, visit their website.
Hire an Attorney
Alameda County Bar Association Attorney Referral Service
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- Receive a match with a carefully pre-screened local lawyer qualified to help you with your legal needs.
- There is a $40 administrative fee, but the initial consultation with the attorney is free. If you want to hire the attorney, you will need to discuss that separately.
- Visit the website for more information.
BALI: Bay Area Legal Incubator
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- Affordable legal services. Some attorneys offer sliding scale fees.
- In-take form available on website, and you can also read the profiles and get contact information for the BALI attorneys.
- Bay Area Legal Incubator is a project of the Alameda County Bar Association
Updated 7.20.2026
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