Protect your California investment properties with a rental property living trust. Avoid probate on rental real estate, ensure uninterrupted rental income for heirs, streamline multi-property management. Attorney-prepared for landlords and real estate investors. Starting at $400.
If you own rental property in California, you've built substantial wealth through real estate investing. Without a living trust, your investment properties will go through expensive probate, disrupting rental income, delaying distributions to heirs, and potentially forcing property sales at unfavorable times. A living trust for rental property California protects your real estate portfolio.
Properties valued at: $750,000 + $625,000 + $500,000 = $1,925,000 total
Savings: $66,500-$68,500 + preserved rental income + peace of mind
When rental property goes through probate, rental income becomes frozen in probate accounts—your family can't access it for 12-18 months. Tenants may leave due to uncertainty. Property maintenance suffers. With a living trust, your successor trustee collects rent immediately, pays expenses, manages tenants, and distributes income to beneficiaries according to your instructions. No interruption, no income loss.
Whether you own 1 rental property or 20, one living trust covers all of them. Transfer each property to the trust with separate grant deeds (simple process, $25-$50 recording fee per property). All properties avoid probate. Your successor trustee manages your entire portfolio seamlessly. This is exponentially more efficient than probating multiple properties separately.
If you own rental properties in multiple states (common for California investors who buy in Nevada, Arizona, Texas, etc.), a California living trust avoids probate in ALL states. Without a trust, your family faces separate probate proceedings in every state where you own real estate—each with its own attorney fees, court costs, and delays. A trust eliminates this nightmare scenario entirely.
If you become incapacitated, managing rental properties requires immediate action—paying mortgages, handling repairs, dealing with tenant issues. With a living trust, your successor trustee steps in immediately with full authority. Without a trust, your family must petition for conservatorship (expensive, slow, court-supervised) before they can manage your properties—potentially leading to foreclosures, tenant departures, and property deterioration.
Structure your trust to benefit heirs according to your vision: (1) Distribute properties outright immediately, (2) Hold properties in trust, distributing rental income to beneficiaries over time, (3) Give successor trustee discretion to sell or hold based on market conditions, (4) Specify age-based distributions (child receives property at age 30, 35, etc.). This flexibility is impossible with a will-based plan.
Probate is public record. Anyone can see what properties you owned, their values, who inherited them, and tenant details. Competitors, creditors, scammers, and predators have access. A living trust keeps your real estate portfolio completely private. Only your family and successor trustee know the details. This privacy is especially valuable for successful real estate investors.
Complete step-by-step guide to creating your trust
Complete our online questionnaire (30 minutes). List all rental properties you want to transfer. Attorney Rozsa Gyene (State Bar #208356) reviews and prepares your California living trust with investment property provisions.
For each rental property, prepare a California grant deed transferring ownership from you as individual to you as trustee of your trust. We provide deed templates. You'll need the legal description from each property's current deed (available from county recorder or title company).
Record each grant deed with the county recorder where the property is located. Recording fees: typically $25-$50 per property. For out-of-state properties, record with that state's county recorder. Each deed becomes public record showing your trust owns the property.
Update property insurance policies to show ownership by "[Your Name], Trustee of [Trust Name]." Your coverage and rates remain the same. This step is important—if a claim arises, the insurance company needs to know the trust owns the property.
For new leases, sign as "[Your Name], Trustee" instead of individual name. Existing leases remain valid—no need to re-sign. If you use property management companies, notify them of the ownership change (they'll need updated W-9 for tax reporting). Day-to-day operations continue unchanged.
A revocable living trust is tax-neutral during your lifetime. Rental income and expenses flow through to your personal tax return using your Social Security Number. No separate trust tax return required. No change to depreciation schedules, 1031 exchange eligibility, or deductions. Transferring to trust is not a taxable event—no capital gains, no transfer taxes (beyond recording fees).
Yes. Federal law (Garn-St. Germain Act) prohibits lenders from calling your loan due or raising interest rates when you transfer rental property to your revocable living trust. Your mortgage terms remain unchanged.
What happens:
Most investors transfer mortgaged rental properties to trusts without notifying lenders. However, you may notify them if you prefer—provide a copy of your trust (or certificate of trust) and updated insurance showing the trust as additional insured.
When you refinance, many lenders prefer the property be in your individual name at closing. Simple solution:
This takes 5 minutes with deed templates we provide. Total cost: $25-$50 in recording fees. Some lenders will refinance with property in trust—ask your loan officer.
California-specific trust with investment property provisions for rental real estate management and succession
California grant deeds for transferring each rental property to trust, with recording instructions
Organized schedule listing all properties held in trust for easy reference and management
Catches future property acquisitions and directs them to your trust
Financial authority for property management if you become incapacitated
Licensed California attorney Rozsa Gyene (State Bar #208356) reviews every document
Complete package: $400 single owner | $500 married owners
One trust covers unlimited California properties
Protect My Investment PropertiesYes. California rental properties over $184,500 in value must go through probate without a trust. Probate costs 4-6% of gross property value (not equity) plus 12-18 months delay. For rental property, probate also disrupts rental income, complicates tenant management, and may force property sales at unfavorable times. A living trust avoids all of this while providing immediate transition to your successor trustee.
No. California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 62(d) exempts transfers to revocable living trusts from reassessment. Your property tax assessment stays the same. Note: When your heirs inherit the rental property, Proposition 19 (effective 2025) requires reassessment to market value for non-primary residence properties. The trust doesn't avoid this, but it ensures smooth transfer so your heirs can decide whether to keep or sell.
You manage it exactly as before. As trustee of your living trust, you have complete control—sign leases, collect rent, handle repairs, pay expenses, buy/sell properties. Sign documents as "[Your Name], Trustee of [Trust Name]." For tax purposes, use your SSN (revocable trusts don't need separate EIN). Nothing changes day-to-day. If you become incapacitated or die, your successor trustee steps in immediately.
Yes. Most lenders will lend to you as trustee. Some lenders prefer you temporarily transfer the property to your individual name for closing, then immediately back to the trust (simple two-deed process). We provide deed templates. Your ability to leverage rental properties is not impaired by holding them in trust.
During your lifetime, rental income flows through to you and is reported on your personal tax return using your SSN. No separate trust tax return required. After your death, your successor trustee collects rent and manages properties until distribution to beneficiaries according to your trust instructions. Income can continue flowing to heirs (if trust holds property long-term) or properties can be distributed outright.
Save your heirs $27,000-$68,000+ in probate costs. Ensure uninterrupted rental income. Streamline property succession. Attorney-prepared living trust for California investment property owners.
Attorney-Reviewed | 25+ Years Experience | California State Bar #208356