When there is no dispute as to where legal title resides but there is question as to all or part of the beneficial title, does section 662 of the California Evidence Code apply?

Evidence Code section 662 has application, by its express terms, when there is no dispute as to where legal title resides but there is question as to where all or part of the beneficial title should rest. For instance, in Toney v. Nolder (1985) 173 Cal.App.3d 791, 219 Cal.Rptr. 497, there was no question about who held legal title to the property; the plaintiff conceded that the parties had agreed that legal title should be taken in the defendant's name. (Id. at p. 793, 219 Cal.Rptr. 497.) Rather, the issue at trial was whether the parties had entered into an oral agreement that they were purchasing the property as equal partners. In short, the question was whether the plaintiff had an equitable or beneficial interest in the property--not whether the defendant held legal title. Consequently, the presumption and standard of proof of section 662 applied.