Reviewed by Rozsa Gyene, California attorney. Last reviewed October 2026.
What the Probate Code requires for a trust to exist, which papers need a notary or witnesses, and the mistakes that make a valid trust fail.
Yes. California law does not ask where a trust was drafted. Under Probate Code §§15200 to 15205 a trust exists when the owner shows an intent to create it, it holds property, it names a beneficiary and its purpose is lawful, and a trust of real estate must be in a writing signed by the settlor or trustee (§15206). Those sections do not require a notary or witnesses for the trust itself. The deed that moves your home into it must be acknowledged before a notary to be recorded (Government Code §27287), and the pour-over will needs two witnesses (§6110). A common problem with an online trust is not the document. It is a home that was never deeded into it.
Division 9 of the Probate Code sets out how a trust is created. A revocable living trust is usually made by the method in §15200(a): a declaration by the owner of property that the owner holds it as trustee. When you sign a trust naming yourself as trustee, that is what you are doing. The other elements are short and apply to every trust, whether it came from a law office, a website or a form book.
| Element | Statute | What it means for an online trust |
|---|---|---|
| Intent | Prob. Code §15201 | The settlor must properly show an intention to create a trust. A signed document titled and written as a trust does this. Intent is also why capacity matters (see below). |
| Trust property | §15202 | A trust is created only if there is trust property. The trust controls only what is titled to it or listed on its schedule, which is why funding is the step people miss. |
| Lawful purpose | §15203, §15204 | Any purpose that is not illegal or against public policy. Holding and passing family property qualifies. |
| Beneficiary | §15205 | A beneficiary or class of beneficiaries that can be identified with reasonable certainty. Full names, and a clear rule for what happens if a beneficiary dies first, avoid disputes later. |
| Signed writing for real estate | §15206 | A trust of real property is valid only if evidenced by a written instrument signed by the trustee, or by a written conveyance signed by the settlor, or by operation of law. |
| Revocability | §15400 | If the settlor lives in California when the trust is created, signs it here, or chooses California law, the trust is revocable unless the document expressly makes it irrevocable. |
None of these sections mentions an attorney, a notary, witnesses or a court filing. That is the legal basis for the plain answer: an online trust that meets them is a valid California trust. If you want a checklist of what goes into the document itself, our California living trust requirements guide covers that.
California's statute of frauds for trusts is §15206. In a typical living trust you are both the settlor and the first trustee, so your signature on the trust instrument satisfies §15206(a), and your signature on the deed to the trust satisfies §15206(b). Either one is enough for the statute; in practice you will sign both.
Personal property is treated differently. Section 15207 allows an oral trust of personal property, but only if its existence and terms are proved by clear and convincing evidence, and the settlor's own oral statement standing alone is not enough. So even for bank and brokerage accounts, the written, signed and dated document is what your successor trustee will rely on.
Sign the trust on paper, in ink, and date it. California's Uniform Electronic Transactions Act does not apply to wills, codicils or testamentary trusts (Civil Code §1633.3(b)(1)). A living trust is not a testamentary trust, but none of the statutes on this page says an electronic signature is enough for a trust of real estate, and the papers that go with it have strict signing rules of their own: the deed has to be acknowledged before a notary with you physically present, and the pour-over will has to be signed in front of two witnesses. Signing everything on paper at one appointment removes any argument about electronic signatures.
Most of the confusion about online trusts comes from treating the whole package as one document. Each paper in a California estate plan has its own signing rule.
| Document | Signing rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Living trust | Signed writing. No notary or witness is required by statute. Signing before a notary is standard so banks and title companies accept it without questions. | Prob. Code §15206 |
| Deed into the trust | Must be acknowledged before a notary before the county recorder will record it. A grant or quitclaim deed cannot be proved by a subscribing witness instead. The notary takes your right thumbprint in the journal. | Gov. Code §27287; §8206(a)(2)(G) |
| Certification of trust | An acknowledged declaration signed by all currently acting trustees. It lets a bank rely on a short summary instead of the full trust. | Prob. Code §18100.5(c) |
| Pour-over will | Signed by you and by at least two witnesses who are present at the same time and understand it is your will. A notary does not replace the witnesses. | Prob. Code §6110(c)(1) |
| Durable power of attorney | Dated, signed, and either acknowledged before a notary or signed by two qualified witnesses. Notarize it if it may be used for real estate. | Prob. Code §4121 |
| Advance health care directive | Dated, signed, and either notarized or signed by two witnesses. Your agent and your health care provider cannot be witnesses, and one witness must be unrelated to you and not entitled to any part of your estate. An electronic directive must be notarized. | Prob. Code §§4673, 4674 |
A notary may charge no more than $15 for each signature acknowledged (Government Code §8211(a)), and must have satisfactory evidence of your identity, usually a government-issued photo ID (Civil Code §1185). Bring the documents unsigned; the notary has to see you sign or have you acknowledge the signature.
The pour-over will deserves a note of its own. It catches anything left outside the trust and sends it to the trustee. Probate Code §6300 makes that gift valid even though the trust can be amended, as long as the will identifies the trust and the trust is in writing, signed before, at the same time as, or within 60 days after the will. Our pour-over will guide and California will requirements page explain the witness rules in more detail.
Online services often suggest a video notary. As of October 2026, the California Secretary of State's notary FAQ says California notaries cannot perform remote online notarizations: California law requires the signer to appear personally before the notary, and a video image is not a personal appearance. SB 696, which will allow remote notarization by California notaries, takes effect when the Secretary of State certifies its technology project or on January 1, 2030, whichever comes first.
California does recognize an acknowledgment taken in another place if it was taken under the law of that place (Civil Code §1189(b)). A deed notarized remotely by a notary commissioned in another state is still reviewed by the county recorder when it is presented. Before you rely on one for your California home, ask the recorder in the county where the property sits. For most people a mobile notary who comes to the house is the simpler choice.
Attorney-prepared, signed in ink, funded with a recorded deed. Our California living trust is $400 for one person or $500 for a married couple, prepared and reviewed by attorney Rozsa Gyene. Deed preparation is $100 per property.
Create Your Living Trust: $400A website cannot see who is typing. California law cares about that in two ways.
Probate Code §810 starts from a presumption that every person has the capacity to make decisions, and says a person with a mental or physical disorder may still be able to execute a will or trust. Section 812 describes decision-making capacity: the ability to communicate the decision and to understand its rights and duties, its probable consequences for you and the people affected, and its significant risks, benefits and alternatives. If a parent's memory is failing, have the parent answer the questions personally, and consider asking the doctor for a short note close to the signing date.
Under Probate Code §21380, a gift in a trust is presumed to be the product of fraud or undue influence when it goes to, among others, the person who drafted the instrument; a person in a fiduciary relationship with you (for example your agent under a power of attorney) who transcribed it or caused it to be transcribed; or a care custodian of a dependent adult, if the trust was signed while the care custodian was providing services or within 90 days before or after. The presumption can be overcome only by clear and convincing evidence, and for the drafter it is conclusive. A beneficiary who loses pays the costs of the proceeding, including attorney fees.
Section 21382 excludes gifts to relatives within the fourth degree and to a cohabitant, so an adult child who helps a parent with the form is not automatically caught. A friend, neighbor or paid caregiver who fills in the questionnaire and is named as a beneficiary may be, depending on the facts: that person may be found to be the drafter, a fiduciary who transcribes is covered, and a care custodian of a dependent adult is covered within the 90-day window. Section 21384 offers a way out: review by an independent attorney who counsels you out of the presence of any heir or proposed beneficiary and signs a certificate of independent review.
One more rule matters for families managing a parent's affairs online. An agent under a power of attorney cannot modify or revoke the parent's trust unless the trust expressly allows it (Probate Code §15401(c)).
A trust controls only the property titled to it (§15202). A common problem with online trusts is not an invalid document. It is a valid document that never received the house.
Our office prepares the deed for $100 per property and you record it. The trust transfer deed guide walks through the form, and the funding how-to covers bank, brokerage, retirement and vehicle accounts.
Say a widow in Los Angeles signs an online trust and dies owning her $900,000 house in her own name. The trust is valid, but the house is not in it. The pour-over will sends the house to the trust only after probate. Under Probate Code §10810 the attorney's statutory fee on a $900,000 gross estate is $21,000.00 (4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $700,000), and the executor may take the same amount under §10800, for $42,000.00 combined. The first petition costs $435 to file ($450 in Riverside and San Francisco counties), and the probate referee's commission under §8961 is about $900. Our Los Angeles living trust page shows how this works in Los Angeles County.
If the house were her primary residence and worth $750,000 or less, her heirs could use the Probate Code §13151 petition instead (deaths on or after April 1, 2025). That is still a court petition with a $435 filing fee, but it replaces full probate. If the rest of her California property, not counting a house passed by §13151 petition, totaled $208,850 or less, her heirs could collect the personal property with the §13100 affidavit after 40 days. Run your own numbers in the California probate cost calculator. A $400 trust plus $100 deed, recorded, keeps the home out of all of it.
A trust made online is changed the same way as any other. Unless the document says it is irrevocable, you can revoke it (§15400). Under §15401 you revoke it by the method the trust provides, or by a signed writing (not a will) delivered to the trustee, unless the trust makes its own method the only one. Unless the trust says otherwise, you amend it by the same procedure (§15402). For a joint trust, each spouse may revoke as to the property that spouse contributed unless the trust says otherwise (§15401(b)); as to community property, either spouse acting alone may revoke unless the trust expressly provides otherwise (Family Code §761(b)). Keep every signed amendment with the original trust.
This page covers legal validity only. For prices, plans and what each online service includes, see our comparison of online living trust services in California.
Yes, if it meets the same rules as any other trust. Under Probate Code sections 15200 to 15205 a trust exists when the owner shows an intent to create it, it holds property, it names a beneficiary, and its purpose is lawful. A trust that holds real estate must be in a writing signed by the settlor or the trustee (section 15206). Nothing in the Probate Code turns on whether the document was drafted online, with software, or in a law office.
The trust itself does not. The Probate Code sections on creating a trust (sections 15200 to 15207) do not require a notary or witnesses. The deed that moves your home into the trust is different: Government Code section 27287 requires the signature on a deed to be acknowledged before the county recorder will record it. The certification of trust you show banks must also be acknowledged (Probate Code section 18100.5). For that reason most people sign the trust in front of the notary at the same appointment.
Sign on paper, in ink. California's electronic transactions law does not apply to wills, codicils or testamentary trusts (Civil Code section 1633.3), and the deed for your home has to be acknowledged before a notary with you physically present. The Secretary of State says California notaries cannot perform remote online notarizations yet: the signer must appear in person, and the new law (SB 696) takes effect when the state's system is certified or on January 1, 2030, whichever comes first.
Yes. Probate Code section 6110 requires a will to be signed by at least two witnesses who are present at the same time and understand that the document is your will. A notary stamp does not replace the witnesses. A pour-over will that leaves your remaining property to your living trust is valid under section 6300 even though the trust can be changed later.
The brand does not decide validity. A trust from any service is valid in California if it meets Probate Code sections 15200 to 15206 and is signed properly. The questions to check are practical ones: whether the deed to your home was signed before a notary and recorded, whether the pour-over will was signed with two witnesses, and whether your accounts were retitled to the trust.
They can help, but it carries legal risk if they benefit. Under Probate Code section 21380, a gift to the person who drafted the trust, to a person in a fiduciary relationship who transcribed it, or to a care custodian of a dependent adult is presumed to be the product of fraud or undue influence. Gifts to relatives within the fourth degree are excluded from that rule (section 21382). The safest course is for you to give the answers yourself and to sign without the beneficiary in the room.
The trust can be perfectly valid and still control nothing. Property left in your own name at death goes through probate unless another procedure applies. On a $900,000 home the statutory attorney and executor fees under Probate Code sections 10810 and 10800 total $42,000, and that value is above the $750,000 limit for the section 13151 primary residence petition. A recorded deed into the trust avoids that.
Checked October 6, 2026. Statute links go to California Legislative Information; the text was read at california.public.law, which reproduces it (marked verified October 5, 2026), because leginfo blocks automated reads.
Legal Review By
California State Bar #208356 | Licensed Since 2000
25+ years estate planning experience in California
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