Do I need a living trust in California?

The difference between a will and a trust, in one paragraph

A will tells the probate court who should receive your property. The court still has to open a case, appoint someone, publish notice, wait for creditors, and approve the distribution. That process is public, it takes months to years, and it costs a percentage of your estate.

A living trust holds your property while you are alive, with you in control, and passes it to the people you name at your death without the court being involved at all. The saving is not the drafting. The saving is the probate that never happens.

When does California require probate?

California requires a probate administration when the gross value of the estate exceeds the small estate threshold, which is $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025 under Probate Code section 13100. Real property is counted at its gross value, before subtracting the mortgage.

That last part is what surprises people. A house worth $900,000 with $700,000 still owed on it is a $900,000 asset for this purpose, not a $200,000 one. Most California homeowners are over the threshold on the house alone.

What a trust actually costs compared with what probate costs

California sets attorney compensation for ordinary probate services by statute, in Probate Code section 10810. It is calculated on the gross value of the estate. The personal representative is entitled to the same amount again.

A Probate Avoidance Trust from this firm is a flat $4,575, and a Legacy Wealth Plan is $6,975. Both include one California deed transfer. Set against a $42,000 probate on a $900,000 house, the arithmetic is not close.

A trust only works if it is funded

This is where most plans fail. A trust that does not own anything protects nothing. Your house has to be deeded into it, your accounts have to be retitled or given a beneficiary designation, and someone has to confirm each institution actually recorded it.

An unfunded trust is worse than no trust, because the family believes they are protected and finds out otherwise at the worst possible moment. Every plan this firm writes includes the deed and written funding instructions, and we check the work.

Who does not need a trust

Not everyone does, and it is worth saying so plainly. If you rent, have modest savings, and your accounts already name beneficiaries, a will with incapacity documents may be all you need. That plan starts at $2,500 here.

What almost nobody should do is nothing. Without any plan, California intestacy law decides who inherits, and a court decides who raises your minor children.

Common questions