Do I need a will or a living trust if I own a home in California?
If you want the house to pass without a probate court case, most California homeowners use a revocable living trust. A home left only by a will goes through probate, unless it is a primary residence worth up to $750,000, which heirs can now pass with a shorter court petition. Probate fees are set by statute on the value of the property, so a $1,000,000 estate carries a $23,000 attorney fee and the same again for the executor. Moving your home into a revocable trust does not trigger a property tax reassessment.
Decide where your home and savings go.
- Will packageA last will and testament, prepared online from your answers.from $695
- Trust packageA revocable living trust with a certification of trust and a pour-over will, prepared online from your answers.from $1,495
Starting prices, per person. Couples can set up a joint trust for both of you, or two plans with $100 off the second.
- Free health care directive: Says who decides about your medical care if you cannot, and what you want.
- Free financial power of attorney: Names who can handle your money matters if you are alive but unable to act for yourself.
Boring Insurance Agency is a licensed insurance agency, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by using this service. These documents are self-help forms prepared from the information you provide. Laws vary by state, and your circumstances may require changes these forms do not make. We recommend you have an attorney licensed in your state review your documents before you sign them.
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How a California home passes at death
In your living trust
- What happens
- Your successor trustee transfers or sells it under the trust’s terms
- Court case?
- No
Jointly with a spouse, with right of survivorship
- What happens
- It passes to the surviving owner
- Court case?
- No, until the second owner dies
Only under your will, primary residence up to $750,000
- What happens
- Heirs file a petition for the residence
- Court case?
- Yes, a shorter petition
Only under your will, any other case
- What happens
- It goes through probate
- Court case?
- Yes, probate
With no will or trust
- What happens
- It goes through probate, to heirs state law chooses
- Court case?
- Yes, probate
California law, read 2026-10-05. Other states differ, and how your deed is titled today matters: check it before you decide.
The detail
California allows a petition when a person "dies leaving real property that was their primary residence in this state and the gross value of that real property does not exceed seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000)." The amendment took effect January 1, 2025.
California Probate Code section 13151 (petition for a primary residence)
The statutory attorney fee in a California probate is 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000 and 2% of the next $800,000, which is $23,000 on a $1,000,000 estate.
California Probate Code section 10810 (statutory attorney compensation in probate)
The executor’s statutory commission follows the same schedule, figured on "the total amount of the appraisal value of property in the inventory," plus gains and receipts, less losses on sales.
California Probate Code section 10800 (personal representative compensation)
A transfer into a trust is not a change in ownership for California property tax "for so long as (1) the transferor is the present beneficiary of the trust, or (2) the trust is revocable."
California Revenue and Taxation Code section 62(d) (transfers into a revocable trust)
Federal law bars a lender from calling a home loan due because of "a transfer into an inter vivos trust in which the borrower is and remains a beneficiary," for a home with fewer than five dwelling units.
12 U.S. Code section 1701j-3(d)(8) (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
A California trustee "may present a certification of trust to any person in lieu of providing a copy" of the whole trust, which is how a successor trustee shows a title company or a bank they have authority to sell or refinance.
California Probate Code section 18100.5 (certification of trust)
What this means for you
- Look at your deed first. How the house is titled today decides what happens to it. Joint ownership passes it to your spouse, then leaves the same question for whoever dies second.
- A trust only controls what it holds. Signing a trust does not move the house into it. The deed has to be recorded in the trust’s name, and a trust with no house in it leaves the house in probate.
- Name a guardian in a will either way. A trust holds what your children inherit; a will is where you name who raises them. The trust package includes a pour-over will for that reason.
- Fund the plan, not just the paperwork. A trust says who gets the house. Life insurance payable to the trust can pay off the mortgage so they can keep it.
Related questions
- Does putting my house in a living trust change my property tax?
Not in California while the trust is revocable or you remain its present beneficiary. The Revenue and Taxation Code says that transfer is not a change in ownership, so there is no reassessment.
- Can my lender call my mortgage if I move the house into a trust?
Federal law says no for a home with fewer than five units, as long as you are and remain a beneficiary of the trust and occupancy does not change. Lenders and title companies sometimes ask for a copy of the certification of trust.
- My house is worth under $750,000. Do I still need a trust?
Not to avoid full probate on a primary residence, since heirs can use the shorter petition. It is still a court filing, though, and it does nothing for a rental, for children under 18 or for anyone who would need to manage money for you while you are alive. Many owners with children choose a trust for those reasons.
- Does a living trust protect my house from a lawsuit?
No. A revocable trust is yours to change, so your creditors can reach what it holds. Protection from a lawsuit comes from liability limits on your home and auto policies and an umbrella above them.
- How much umbrella insurance do I need?
- Do I need a lawyer to put my house in a trust?
Many people with straightforward situations set one up without hiring a lawyer first. An estate that could approach the federal estate tax exclusion, a beneficiary with special needs, a blended family expecting disagreement or property abroad should involve one, and we recommend an attorney review any documents before you sign them.
- Do I need a lawyer to make a living trust?
- Is there a quick way to check all of this for my household?
Take the Family Plan Check. About ten short questions about your household, home, cars and money, and it says whether a will or a living trust fits, estimates life insurance in a range with the math shown, says whether an umbrella makes sense and at what limit, and lists what to check on your home and auto policies.
- Take the Family Plan Check
Set it up, then fund it
We set up wills and revocable living trusts through our online document platform, from $695 for a will and $1,495 for a trust, and we place the home, auto, umbrella and life insurance around them. We do not give legal advice; when your situation needs an attorney, the Family Plan Check says so.
Boring Insurance Agency is a licensed insurance agency, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by using this service. These documents are self-help forms prepared from the information you provide. Laws vary by state, and your circumstances may require changes these forms do not make. We recommend you have an attorney licensed in your state review your documents before you sign them.
Written by Kevin Kelsey, founder and principal agent, CA License #6011822. Last updated 2026-10-05. See all guides.