For Californians whose trust may be empty
An unfunded trust is just expensive paper.
A living trust only controls what’s titled in its name. If your home was never deeded into the trust — or quietly came out during a refinance — the binder on your shelf may be guarding nothing, and your estate heads to the probate court you paid to avoid.
Free • No obligation • Flat fees stated before any work begins
Where your trust stands
- DraftedDone
- SignedDone
- FundedThe gap
- Kept current
The title test
One document tells you the truth: your deed
Pull the most recent recorded deed for your home (your county recorder has it). Then read the owner line.
In the trust ✓
- “Jane Smith, Trustee of the Smith Family Trust, dated…”
- Title held in the trust’s name — this asset bypasses probate
Outside the trust ✗
- “Jane Smith, a married woman” — your personal name only
- The deed was never recorded into the trust, or a refinance pulled it out and it never went back
- This asset likely goes through probate, trust or no trust
What’s at stake
What an empty trust costs a California family
California sets probate fees by statute, on the gross value of the estate — debt doesn’t reduce it. On an $800,000 home, the statutory fee is $19,000 for the attorney and up to another $19,000 for the personal representative — before court costs — and probate routinely runs a year or longer, in public record. That is the bill for one missing deed.
Commonly left outside a trust
- The family home — deed never recorded into the trust
- A home that left the trust during a refinance and never returned
- Property bought after the trust was signed
- Bank and brokerage accounts never retitled
- A rental or inherited property still in a personal name
The fix
Funding a trust is titling work — documents, prepared and recorded
You tell us which assets you want moved into your trust. We prepare the paperwork, complete and ready, for a flat fee you approve first.
Trust Transfer Deed
Moves real property into your trust’s name, recorded with the county — the single most important funding document for most families.
Certification of Trust
The short-form summary banks, brokerages, and title companies require to retitle accounts into the trust.
Assignment of Personal Property
A general assignment moving untitled personal property under the trust’s umbrella.
Updated supporting documents
If funding reveals other gaps, we can also prepare amendments or restatements at your direction.
How it works
From “I think so?” to recorded — in four steps
Free consultation
Tell us what you own and what your deed says. We’ll explain which funding documents you can direct us to prepare, with a flat-fee quote.
You confirm the assets
You decide which properties and accounts go into the trust. The decisions are always yours.
We prepare the documents
Trust transfer deeds, certification of trust, assignments — complete and signature-ready for California.
Sign and record
Deeds are recorded with the county; you take the certification to your bank. Your trust finally holds what it was built to hold.
- Bonded & Registered California Legal Document Assistant
- Flat, transparent fees
- Documents prepared at your direction
- Free, no-obligation consultation
Straight answers
Questions people ask about trust funding
What does “funding” a trust actually mean?
Transferring assets into the trust’s name: recording a deed for real estate, retitling accounts, assigning personal property. A trust only controls what’s titled in it — everything else may face probate.
How do I check if my house is in my trust?
Read your most recent recorded deed (your county recorder has it). If the owner is you personally rather than you as trustee of your trust, the house is likely outside the trust.
We refinanced a few years ago. Is that a problem?
It can be. Lenders sometimes require the home to be deeded out of the trust to close the loan — and the deed back in is often never recorded. If you’ve refinanced since creating your trust, the current deed is worth checking.
Doesn’t my pour-over will catch anything left out?
A pour-over will directs leftover assets into the trust — but in most cases it does so through probate, with its statutory fees and timeline. It’s a safety net, not a substitute for funding.
Can you tell me which assets I should put in my trust?
No — that would be legal advice, and as a Legal Document Assistant we cannot give it. You decide; we prepare the documents from your instructions. For complex holdings or tax questions, we’ll plainly recommend a licensed attorney.
Find out if your trust is actually funded — free
Book a free, no-obligation consultation. We’ll walk through what you own, what your deed says, and which documents you can direct us to prepare — with a flat fee up front.