Typically an asset is stepped up to the current value on inheritance so it might be better for your wife to inherit the car rather than be a joint owner. I'm not 100% sure this is true in CA but it could be a big difference in taxes when the car is sold so you should make at least a phone call to a tax person. If you bought the car for $10,000 and it is now worth $50,000 then it would be better for her to inherit it. If the numbers aren't big then don't worry about it since I'm sure you have better things to do with your time.