Most Los Angeles homeowners need both, and they do different jobs. A will is a set of instructions to the probate court — it names guardians for minor children, names an executor, and directs where property goes, but it does not keep the estate out of court. A revocable living trust holds title to your assets during your lifetime and, for the assets actually titled in it, passes them to your successor trustee at death without a probate case, which is what avoids California’s statutory fees under Probate Code §§ 10800 and 10810. The trust also works if you become incapacitated; a will does nothing until you die. In practice the two are paired: the trust holds the house and the accounts, and a short “pour-over” will catches anything you never retitled and nominates guardians. Neither document, on its own, handles medical or financial decisions while you are alive.
What does a will actually do in California?
A will does four things well.
- It nominates a guardian for minor children. California lets a parent name a guardian in a will or another signed writing (Prob. Code §§ 1500, 1502), but the will is where the nomination customarily goes, and for parents of young kids it is often the single reason to sign one.
- It names an executor — the person who will petition the court and administer the estate.
- It directs distribution of whatever property is subject to it.
- It overrides intestate succession, the default statutory scheme that applies when you leave no will.
To be valid, a California will generally must be in writing, signed by you, and witnessed by two people who are present at the same time and understand they are witnessing your will (Prob. Code § 6110). A handwritten holographic will can be valid without witnesses if the signature and the material provisions are in your own handwriting (§ 6111). Valid and advisable are different questions — handwritten wills tend to be ambiguous, and ambiguity is what gets litigated.
One detail that surprises families: whoever holds the original will must deliver it to the superior court clerk within 30 days of learning of the death (Prob. Code § 8200), unless a probate petition has already been filed. The will becomes a court filing. Which brings us to the part most people have backwards.
Does a will avoid probate in California?
No. This is a common misunderstanding, and it costs families real money.
Probate is triggered by assets titled in your individual name at death — not by whether you wrote a will. A will does not bypass that process. It is the instruction manual the probate court follows during it. The estate still gets a case number, an executor still gets appointed by the judge, creditors still get their notice period, and the court still signs off before anything is distributed.
The fees are identical either way. Probate Code §§ 10800 and 10810 entitle both the personal representative and the estate’s attorney to statutory compensation on the gross value of the estate — 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, and 1% of the next $9,000,000, before any mortgage is subtracted.
| Gross estate | Attorney fee | Executor fee | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | ~$13,000 | ~$13,000 | ~$26,000 |
| $750,000 | ~$18,000 | ~$18,000 | ~$36,000 |
| $1,000,000 | ~$23,000 | ~$23,000 | ~$46,000 |
| $1,500,000 | ~$28,000 | ~$28,000 | ~$56,000 |
| $2,000,000 | ~$33,000 | ~$33,000 | ~$66,000 |
Los Angeles County probate matters commonly run 12 to 24 months, with the estate’s assets largely frozen while the case is open. A perfectly drafted will does not shorten that timeline by a day. More detail on the process is on the California probate page.
What does a living trust do that a will cannot?
A revocable living trust is a legal entity you create, control, and can change or revoke at any time. You are typically the trustor, the trustee, and the primary beneficiary during your lifetime, so day-to-day nothing about your financial life changes. You still sell the house, refinance it, and move money exactly as before.
Three things change at the edges, and those edges are the entire point.
No probate case. Assets titled in the trust pass to your successor trustee under the trust’s terms. There is no court petition, no judge, and no statutory fee schedule. Distribution can typically begin within weeks rather than after a year in court.
It works during incapacity. If you have a stroke, your successor trustee steps in and manages trust assets without a court proceeding. A will is legally inert until you die — it does nothing for you while you are alive but unable to act. The alternative, if nothing is in place, is a court conservatorship: a public proceeding, with court supervision that continues for as long as it is needed.
It stays private. A probate file is a public court record. The case, the inventory of what the estate owned, and who received what are all searchable by anyone who wants to look. A trust is not filed with the court. Your successor trustee provides notice and information to beneficiaries and heirs under Probate Code § 16061.7, but the terms do not become a public document.
Living trust vs. will: side by side
| Will | Revocable living trust | |
|---|---|---|
| Avoids probate | No | Yes, for assets actually titled in it |
| California statutory fees (§§ 10800/10810) | Apply | Do not apply |
| Typical timeline to distribution | 12–24 months in LA County | Often weeks |
| Public record | Yes — lodged with the court | No |
| Works if you become incapacitated | No | Yes |
| Customary place to nominate guardians for minor kids | Yes | No |
| Requires funding to work | No | Yes |
| Effective when | Only at death | Immediately on signing and funding |
Read the last two rows together, because they explain why the answer is usually “both.”
What happens if I have neither?
California writes the plan for you. Under intestate succession, your half of the community property passes to your surviving spouse, who already owns the other half (Prob. Code § 6401(a)). Your separate property splits, and the split depends on who survives you:
- Spouse and one child: one-half to the spouse, one-half to the child.
- Spouse and two or more children: one-third to the spouse, two-thirds divided among the children.
- Spouse and no children, but a surviving parent: one-half to the spouse, one-half to your parents. If no parent survives but you have siblings or nieces and nephews, that half goes to them instead.
- Spouse and no children, parents, siblings, or nieces and nephews: all of it to the spouse.
- No spouse: to your children and their descendants, then your parents, then your siblings and their descendants, in the order set by § 6402.
Two consequences catch people off guard. A blended family can end up with a surviving spouse owning a fractional interest in the family home alongside adult stepchildren. And an unmarried partner who is not a registered domestic partner inherits nothing under this scheme, regardless of how long the relationship lasted. The estate still goes through probate, with the same statutory fees, and the court appoints an administrator rather than someone you chose.
Which one do I need?
For most Los Angeles homeowners, the honest answer is a trust and a short will, working together.
A will alone may be enough when there is no real estate and the estate is genuinely small. California has simplified procedures for modest estates — for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, a personal-property affidavit up to $208,850 (Prob. Code § 13100) and a primary residence valued at $750,000 or less that can pass by petition (Prob. Code §§ 13150–13154). A renter with a car and a modest bank account may never need a trust.
A trust generally earns its keep once you own California real estate. The median Los Angeles home is worth more than the $750,000 petition cap, which means a typical LA homeowner faces full probate without one. The mortgage does not help — the fee is calculated on the home’s gross value, not your equity.
The will that pairs with a trust is a pour-over will. It is short, and it exists as a safety net: it nominates guardians, and it directs anything still titled in your individual name into the trust. Assets that pour over still pass through probate, so the pour-over will is a backstop, not a substitute for funding the trust properly. The wills page covers what a California will can and cannot do in more detail, including handwritten wills. That funding step — actually retitling the house and the accounts — is where most plans fail, and it is covered on the living trusts page.
What neither document does
Both a will and a trust are about property. Neither one lets someone make a medical decision for you, and neither is what a bank asks for when your spouse needs to sign something on your behalf while you are in a hospital bed.
Two separate documents handle that: a durable power of attorney, which lets an agent you name handle financial and legal matters if you cannot, and an advance health care directive, which names who speaks for you medically and records your wishes about treatment. These work during your lifetime, which makes them the documents everyone needs — including adults with no significant assets. Without them, the path runs through a conservatorship petition in court.
If you are only going to sign two things this year, many people are better served by these two than by anything else on the list.
A practical next step
If you already have a will and nothing else, the useful question is not “is my will good.” It is: what is titled in my individual name, and what would my family have to do to get it? Pull your grant deed and your account statements and look at whose name is actually on them. That answer tells you which document you need.
Common questions about both documents are answered on the FAQ page. If you would like to talk through your own situation, I am reachable at (818) 995-9432, or through the contact page. Trust Advisor plans are flat-fee, so you know the cost before the work starts. No question is too small.
The information in this article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Use of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship. Results described do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any other matter. Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes. Trust Advisor, A Professional Legal Corporation | State Bar of California No. 318355 | 15760 Ventura Blvd., 7th Floor, Encino, CA 91436 | Attorney Advertising
