Ready to Protect Your Family?
Create your California living trust online; most people finish the questionnaire in 20 to 30 minutes. Avoid $26,000+ in statutory probate fees on a $500,000 estate and a court process that often takes 12 to 18 months or longer.
Create Your Living Trust: $400 →
✓ Attorney-prepared and reviewed ✓ California-specific ✓ No hidden fees
⚠️ Most Common Trust Mistake: Not Funding It
Creating a living trust is only half the job. You must FUND it (transfer assets to it).
Unfunded trust = Useless trust. If you die with assets NOT in your trust, those assets may go through probate (statutory attorney and executor fees alone are $26,000 on a $500,000 estate).
This guide shows you how to properly fund your California living trust step-by-step.
What is Living Trust Funding?
"Funding" means transferring ownership of your assets from your individual name to your trust's name.
Instead of: "John Smith owns the house"
It becomes: "John Smith, Trustee of the John Smith Living Trust dated January 15, 2025, owns the house"
You still control everything (you're the trustee), but legally the trust owns it, which avoids probate when you die.
⏰ Don't Delay Your Estate Planning
Create your living trust now and protect your loved ones.
✓ Most people finish the questionnaire in 20 to 30 minutes ✓ Attorney-prepared and reviewed ✓ No hidden fees
Living Trust Funding Checklist California
✓ Complete Funding Checklist
STEP 1: TRANSFER REAL ESTATE (Most Important)
- ☐ Prepare a trust transfer deed
- ☐ Sign deed in front of notary
- ☐ Record deed with county recorder
- ☐ Keep recorded deed with trust documents
- ☐ Notify mortgage company (if you have mortgage)
- ☐ Notify homeowner's insurance
STEP 2: RETITLE BANK ACCOUNTS
- ☐ Checking accounts
- ☐ Savings accounts
- ☐ Money market accounts
- ☐ CDs (certificates of deposit)
STEP 3: TRANSFER INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS
- ☐ Brokerage accounts
- ☐ Stocks and bonds
- ☐ Mutual funds
STEP 4: TRANSFER BUSINESS INTERESTS
- ☐ LLC membership interests
- ☐ Corporation stock
- ☐ Partnership interests
STEP 5: DO NOT TRANSFER (Use Beneficiary Designations)
- ☐ IRA, 401(k), 403(b): Do NOT retitle to the trust; review the beneficiary designation (naming a trust as beneficiary has income tax consequences, so ask your tax adviser)
- ☐ Life insurance: Name beneficiaries directly
- ☐ Health Savings Account (HSA): Keep in individual name
How to Transfer House to Living Trust California
This is the MOST IMPORTANT step (and most commonly skipped).
Step-by-Step: Transfer Home to Trust
Step 1: Prepare the Deed
You need a deed that transfers property from you to yourself as trustee:
"John Smith and Mary Smith, husband and wife, hereby grant to John Smith and Mary Smith, as Trustees of the Smith Family Trust dated January 15, 2025, the following property..."
Living Trust California prepares your deed for a separate $100 per property. You record it with your county recorder.
Step 2: Sign Deed in Front of Notary
- Both spouses must sign (if joint ownership)
- Bring government ID to notary
- Notary completes acknowledgment
Step 3: Record Deed with County Recorder
- File deed with county recorder where property is located
- Cost: Recording fees are set by your county and vary; your county recorder's office can tell you the exact amount.
- Can mail or deliver in person
Step 4: Keep Recorded Deed with Trust
- County returns recorded deed to you
- Keep with original trust documents
- This proves property is in trust
How to Retitle Bank Accounts to Trust
Step 1: Contact Your Bank
Call or visit branch. Say: "I need to retitle my account to my living trust."
Step 2: Bring These Documents:
- Copy of your trust (first few pages + signature page)
- Trust certification (bank may provide form)
- Government ID
Step 3: Bank Retitles Account
Account name changes from "John Smith" to "John Smith, Trustee of the John Smith Living Trust"
Important: Account number stays the same. Direct deposits, automatic payments continue unchanged.
What NOT to Put in Living Trust
Protect Your Family From California Probate
20-30 min
For most people to finish the questionnaire
How to Change Living Trust California
To amend (change) your revocable living trust:
- Create "Amendment to Living Trust" document
- Specify what you're changing (beneficiaries, trustee, distributions)
- Sign in front of notary
- Keep amendment with original trust
How to Revoke Living Trust California
To revoke (cancel) your living trust:
- Create "Revocation of Living Trust" document
- Sign in front of notary
- Transfer all assets OUT of trust back to your individual name
- Notify banks, county recorder (if real estate)
💡 Living Trust California Includes Funding Support
When you create your trust with Living Trust California ($400 single, $500 joint), you get:
- ✓ Deed prepared and ready to sign ($100 per property add-on; you record it)
- ✓ Step-by-step funding instructions for every asset type
- ✓ Sample letters to banks and financial institutions
- ✓ Complete funding checklist
- ✓ California attorney review of all documents
Save Your Family $26,000 to $66,000 in Statutory Probate Fees
$26,000
Statutory Fees on a $500,000 Estate
$400-$500
Living Trust Cost
Probate fees are set by statute: the personal representative (Prob. Code §10800) and the attorney (§10810) are each entitled to the same schedule, so the figure above counts both. Extraordinary fees, court costs, appraisal and publication fees are extra. A living trust is $400 for an individual, $500 for a couple.
Key Takeaways
- Funding your trust is CRITICAL: unfunded trust doesn't avoid probate
- Transfer home first (most valuable asset, most commonly forgotten)
- Record deed with county: this makes it official
- Retitle your bank accounts (the $208,850 small-estate limit applies to the whole estate, not to each account)
- Do NOT put retirement accounts in trust (triggers taxes)
- Living Trust California prepares your deed ($100 per property add-on)
- Complete funding within 30 days of signing trust
