Living Trust for Homeowners California 2025 - Online $400-$500

Without a Living Trust:

Your $800,000 California home goes through probate:

• Attorney fees: $18,000 (statutory)
• Executor fees: $18,000 (statutory)
• Court costs: $1,000-$2,000
• Timeline: 12-18 months
• Total cost: $37,000-$38,000 + 2 years delay

Your family can't sell, refinance, or access equity until probate closes.

With a Living Trust:

• Deed transferred to your trust while you're alive
• No probate court involvement
• Your successor trustee distributes the home immediately
• Family can sell, keep, or refinance right away
• Total cost: $400-$500 (one time)
• Timeline: Immediate transfer upon death

Savings: $36,500-$37,500 + 12-18 months of family stress

Step 1: Create Your Living Trust

Complete our online questionnaire (30 minutes). Attorney Rozsa Gyene (State Bar #208356) reviews and prepares your California living trust with homeowner-specific provisions.

Step 2: Sign and Notarize Trust Document

Sign your trust in front of a California notary public. This creates the legal entity that will own your home.

Step 3: Prepare Grant Deed

We provide a California grant deed template. Fill in: (1) Your name as grantor, (2) Your name as trustee, (3) Your trust name and date, (4) Your property's legal description (copy from current deed). Sign and notarize this deed.

Step 4: Record Deed with County Recorder

Mail or deliver your signed/notarized grant deed to your county recorder's office with the recording fee ($25-$50). The deed becomes public record, showing your trust owns the property.

Step 5: Update Property Insurance

Contact your homeowner's insurance company. Update the policy to show the property is owned by "[Your Name], Trustee of [Your Trust Name]." Your coverage and rates stay the same.

What About My Mortgage?

Federal law (Garn-St. Germain Act) protects you. Your mortgage company cannot call your loan due or raise your interest rate when you transfer your home to your revocable living trust. Most homeowners complete the transfer without notifying their lender. Your payments, rate, and terms remain identical.

No Property Tax Increase When You Transfer to Your Trust

California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 62(d) provides a specific exemption: transferring your primary residence or other real property to your revocable living trust does not trigger property tax reassessment.

You keep all your Proposition 13 protections:

• Your property tax assessment stays the same
• Your homeowner's exemption continues
• Your annual 2% cap remains in place
• Any special assessments or exemptions continue

After Death: Parent-Child Proposition 19 Considerations

Proposition 19 (effective 2025) changed parent-child property tax transfer rules. When your children inherit your home through your living trust:

• Primary Residence: Your child can keep your low Prop 13 tax base if they use it as their primary residence within one year (exemption up to $1 million over current assessed value)
• Other Property: Investment or vacation homes reassess to market value when inherited

A living trust doesn't avoid Prop 19 reassessment (no strategy does), but it ensures smooth, immediate transfer so your children can establish occupancy within the required timeline.

Avoid Real Estate Probate

California probate fees are based on gross estate value—your home's full market value, not equity. If you own a $900,000 home with a $600,000 mortgage, probate fees are calculated on $900,000 ($41,000+ in fees), even though your equity is only $300,000. Completely unfair. A living trust avoids this entirely.

Family Can Access Property Immediately

Without a trust, your family cannot access the home, sell it, refinance it, or even maintain it properly during probate. Bills go unpaid, insurance lapses, property deteriorates. With a living trust, your successor trustee steps in immediately—paying mortgage, taxes, insurance, and managing or selling the property as you instructed.

Multiple Properties? One Trust Covers All

If you own multiple California properties (primary residence + rental/vacation home) or out-of-state property, one living trust avoids probate in all jurisdictions. Without a trust, your family faces separate probate proceedings in each state where you own real estate—multiplying costs and delays exponentially.

Incapacity Planning for Your Home

If you become incapacitated (stroke, dementia, accident), your successor trustee can manage your home—pay mortgage, handle repairs, even sell if necessary to pay for your care. Without a trust, your family must petition for conservatorship (expensive, slow, court-supervised) before they can help.

Complete package: $400 single homeowner | $500 married homeowners

How do I transfer my California home to a living trust?

Use a California grant deed to transfer ownership from yourself as individual to yourself as trustee of your trust. Sign and notarize the deed, then record it with your county recorder's office. We provide the deed template and complete instructions. The process costs $25-$50 in recording fees.

Will transferring my home to a trust trigger property tax reassessment in California?

No. California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 62(d) specifically exempts living trust transfers from reassessment. Your Proposition 13 protections continue. Your property taxes will not increase.

Do I need to notify my mortgage company when I transfer my home to my trust?

Federal law (Garn-St. Germain Act) prohibits mortgage companies from calling your loan due when you transfer your home to your revocable living trust. Most homeowners complete the transfer without notifying their lender. Your mortgage terms, interest rate, and payments remain unchanged. You may notify them if you prefer, but it's not required.

Can I still refinance or sell my home after putting it in a trust?

Yes. As trustee of your revocable living trust, you maintain complete control. You can sell, refinance, mortgage, or transfer the property exactly as before. Some lenders prefer you temporarily transfer the property back to your individual name for refinancing (simple one-page deed), then immediately back to the trust after closing.

What happens to my home equity if I die without a living trust?

Your home goes through California probate. For a typical $800,000 California home, probate costs approximately $37,000 in attorney and executor fees (calculated on gross value, not equity), plus $1,000-$2,000 in court costs. The process takes 12-18 months. Your family cannot sell, refinance, or access equity during probate. A living trust avoids all of this—your successor trustee distributes the home immediately according to your instructions.