How Living Trusts Avoid Probate in California
In California, a living trust enables you to avoid probate if you set it up correctly and make sure pretty much all your assets are in the trust.
With proper set up and administration, a living trust is an effective way to protect your assets against probate.
With a Will: When you pass away with only a will, your assets must go through California probate, which is a court supervised process where:
- A judge validates your will
- Your executor is formally appointed
- All assets and debts are inventoried and published
- Creditors are notified and paid
- Assets are eventually distributed (typically 9-18 months later)
- Everything becomes public record
- Costs run $20,000-$35,000+ for an average California estate
With a Living Trust: When you pass away, with a properly funded living trust:
- Your successor trustee immediately has authority to act
- No court involvement whatsoever
- Assets are distributed privately according to your instructions
- The process typically completes in weeks, not months
- No public record of your assets or beneficiaries
- Costs are relatively minimal and mostly administrative
We're California Living Trust, Estate Planning & Probate Attorneys
As a Ventura County estate planning law firm specializing in living trusts, our firm commonly receives questions about living trust fundamentals. We have a team of experts with the legal knowledge to answer questions about the process of estate planning, and what the benefits of a living trust can be.
Our firm can provide expert legal services as living trust attorneys. We are a Southern California based law firm in business since 1985. We specialize in living trusts and estate planning matters.
To learn more about living trusts, or if you would like a free consultation to learn if a living trust is right for you, please do not hesitate to contact us at (805) 482-2282, or e-mail us.
It is our privilege to guide clients through estate planning decisions
