Reviewed by Rozsa Gyene, California attorney. Last reviewed October 2026.
Twelve questions about the documents you have signed, whether your home and accounts are actually in your trust, and the gaps that can send a California family to probate court. You get a score out of 100 and the three fixes that matter most, each with a page that explains it. Your answers stay in your browser.
Page checked October 7, 2026. The scoring is written out under "How this is calculated".
General information, not legal advice. This check gives a score from the answers you choose, using the firm's own weighting described below. It does not review your documents. It does not create an attorney-client relationship. Your situation may differ; talk to a California attorney before you act on the result.
The points below are this firm's own weighting of common gaps in a California estate plan. They are a judgment, not a legal standard, and no statute or court scores a plan this way. The heaviest weights go to the trust itself, the deed to the home and the accounts, because those decide whether the family ends up in probate court.
| # | Question | Points by answer | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Which documents you have signed | Trust 10, pour-over will 5, durable power of attorney 4, advance health care directive 4, HIPAA authorization 2 | 25 |
| 2 | When the trust and will were signed | Within 5 years 6; 5 to 10 years 3; older or not sure 0. Left out if you have neither | 6 |
| 3 | Accounts retitled to the trust | All 10; some 5; none or not sure 0 | 10 |
| 4 | Beneficiary designations checked | Current 8; out of date or not sure 0 | 8 |
| 5 | Guardian named for minor children | Named 8; not named 0 | 8 |
| 6 | Named people know their role and where the originals are | All 5; some 2; none 0. Left out if no one has been named yet | 5 |
| 7 | California home deeded to the trust and recorded | Recorded 15; signed but not confirmed recorded 5; no or not sure 0 | 15 |
| 8 | Proposition 19 looked at for heirs | Yes 5; no or not sure 0. Left out if you own no California real estate | 5 |
| 9 | Out-of-state real estate in the trust | In the trust 6; not in it or not sure 0 | 6 |
| 10 | Business interest planned for | Yes 5; no 0 | 5 |
| 11 | Digital assets | List and authority 3; partly 1; no 0 | 3 |
| 12 | Last full review | Within 3 years 4; 3 to 5 years 2; older or never 0 | 4 |
| Total when every question applies | 100 |
A "not applicable" answer removes that question from both the points you earned and the points possible, so it does not count against you. Your score is points earned divided by points possible, times 100, rounded to the nearest whole number. If you do not have a trust, questions 3, 7 and 9 earn no points, since there is nothing yet to deed or retitle into. Question 6 is left out if you have signed none of the trust, will, power of attorney or health care directive, since no one has been named yet, and question 8 is left out if you own no California real estate. A score of 85 or more reads as in good shape, 60 to 84 as a solid start with gaps, and under 60 as important pieces missing. One exception: if you own a California home and it is not in a trust with a recorded deed, the result reads as important pieces missing whatever the score, because that home would still go through probate; a deed that is signed but not yet confirmed as recorded caps the result at a solid start.
Every answer that loses points becomes a fix, worth the points it lost. If you have no trust, the points lost on the home, the accounts and out-of-state real estate are added to the trust fix, because the trust has to exist first. Fixes are listed from the most points lost to the fewest. When two fixes lose the same points, this fixed order decides: trust, home deed, accounts, pour-over will, power of attorney, health care directive, guardian, beneficiary designations, out-of-state property, document dates, Proposition 19, business, the people you named, review, HIPAA authorization, digital assets. The first three are shown as the most important fixes.
The rules behind the questions:
No. The score uses this firm's own weighting of twelve common gaps, written out on this page. It does not read your documents, and two plans with the same score can have very different problems. Use it to decide what to look at first.
No. The score is worked out in your browser. Nothing is sent to us or stored, and there is no email sign up.
For most California families the home is the largest asset, and a trust that does not hold the home does not keep it out of probate. A signed trust with no recorded deed is a common gap.
If you have no minor children, no out-of-state real estate or no business, that question is left out of your score instead of counting against you. The score is the points you earned divided by the points possible for your answers.
An attorney-prepared trust is $400 for one person or $500 for a married couple, and the deed for each property is $100. For one person with a home, that is a $400 trust plus $100 deed.
An attorney-prepared living trust is $400 for one person or $500 for a married couple. Moving your home into it takes a deed, which we prepare for $100 per property.
Law Offices of Rozsa Gyene, 3500 W. Olive Ave., Suite 300, Burbank, CA 91505. California State Bar #208356.
Legal Review By
California State Bar #208356 | Licensed Since 2000
25+ years estate planning experience in California