LIVING TRUSTS

A revocable Living Trust is a legal arrangement you establish during your lifetime to hold and manage property.

Typically, you serve as the initial trustee and continue to control the assets placed in the trust. 

You can generally buy and sell assets, change beneficiaries, amend the trust, or revoke it during your lifetime.

You also name a successor trustee who can take responsibility for trust assets when you die or, depending on the trust’s terms, if you become unable to manage them yourself.

After your death, assets that were properly transferred into the trust can generally be administered and distributed to your beneficiaries without going through formal probate.

The California Courts specifically recognize Living Trusts as an estate-planning tool that can allow properly funded trust assets to pass to beneficiaries without probate.

No. A will by itself does not avoid probate in California.

For many Californians, the family home alone represents a substantial portion of the estate.
A Living Trust can be particularly valuable when you own real estate because it can provide an orderly method for transferring trust-owned property after death without requiring that property to pass through formal probate.

The California Courts explain that a Living Trust can help ensure that a home passes to the intended beneficiaries without waiting for the probate court process.

For homeowners in Marin County, where property values can represent a significant portion of a family’s wealth, this can be an especially important estate-planning consideration.

No. A will by itself does not avoid probate in California.

A will tells others—and ultimately the probate court—how you want probate assets distributed after your death. It can also nominate an executor and address other important matters.

But having a will does not necessarily keep an estate out of probate.

California Courts expressly note that an estate may need to go through probate even when the deceased person had a will.

A Living Trust works differently. Assets properly owned by the trust can generally be administered by the successor trustee without formal probate.

This is why a comprehensive estate plan often includes both a Living Trust and a will rather than choosing one or the other.

A Living Trust isn’t only for the ultra-wealthy.

The more useful question is: What do you own, how is it titled, and what would happen to it if you died or became incapacitated?


California does provide simplified procedures that can avoid full probate in certain circumstances. As of April 1, 2025, for example, California increased several statutory limits, including a $208,850 limit for certain personal-property transfers and a separate procedure applying to a decedent’s California primary residence valued up to $750,000, subject to the requirements of the applicable statutes.

Those rules mean that simply quoting an old dollar threshold and saying everyone above it “needs a trust” can be misleading.

Instead, the appropriate plan depends on the types of assets you own and how they will transfer.



A Living Trust Does More Than Address Probate

Probate avoidance gets much of the attention, but estate planning is also about what happens during your lifetime.

A thoughtfully prepared estate plan can address questions such as:

• Who will manage my financial affairs if I cannot?
• Who can make healthcare decisions for me if I cannot communicate?
• Who will manage the assets held in my trust?
• Who should receive my property after my death?

The California Courts emphasizes that estate planning is not limited to what happens at death. Powers of attorney and advance healthcare directives can help prepare for situations in which someone becomes unable to handle financial or medical matters personally.

A Trust Only Works Properly If It Is Funded

Creating and signing a Living Trust is only part of the process.

Assets intended to be governed by the trust generally need to be properly transferred or titled into the trust.

For real property, that commonly involves preparing and recording an appropriate deed. Other assets may require different ownership or beneficiary arrangements.

This is an important distinction because California Courts describes the probate-avoidance benefit as applying when assets have actually been placed into the Living Trust.

A beautifully drafted trust that never receives the intended assets may not accomplish everything its owner expected.

A Living Trust isn’t only for the ultra-wealthy.

A Living Trust is often only one component of a comprehensive estate plan.

Depending on your circumstances, an estate plan may include:

• Revocable Living Trust
• Will
• Durable Power of Attorney
• Advance Healthcare Directive
• Documents necessary to transfer appropriate real property into the trust

These documents work together to address both lifetime planning and the eventual transfer of your estate.

It may be time to discuss your estate plan if you:

• Own a home or other California real estate
• Have accumulated substantial financial or investment assets
• Have children or other people you want to provide for
• Want greater control over how your assets are distributed
• Want to plan for possible incapacity
• Already have a will but no Living Trust
• Have an older trust that hasn’t been reviewed recently
• Recently married or divorced
• Acquired or sold significant property
• Have experienced major changes in your family or finances

An existing trust should also be reviewed periodically. Changes in your family, property, finances, beneficiaries, trustees, or the law can affect whether an older estate plan still accomplishes what you intend.

There isn’t a universal answer.

If you own valuable California real estate, have significant assets, want to provide for your family, want a plan for incapacity, or want properly structured assets to avoid formal probate, a Living Trust is worth discussing with an experienced California estate-planning attorney.

The objective isn’t simply to own a document called a “trust.”

The objective is to create an estate plan that works for your property, your family and your wishes—and to make sure the plan is properly implemented.