Short answer: In California, what actually protects the family home is getting it out of probate and getting the property tax and long term care exposure right, not vague “asset protection” language. A home worth more than $208,850 gross value with no living trust or other transfer mechanism is subject to full, court supervised probate under Probate Code § 13100, and the statutory fees on a $1,000,000 estate run about $46,000 combined for the executor and the estate’s attorney under Probate Code §§ 10800 and 10810, before court costs or extraordinary fees. A properly funded revocable living trust avoids that process for retitled property. The same trust does nothing on its own for your Proposition 19 property tax base or your exposure to Medi-Cal recovery. Those turn on separate rules.
Does a living trust actually protect my house from probate?
Yes, but only for property actually retitled into the trust. A living trust that is never funded, meaning the deed to the house was never changed to name the trust as owner, does not avoid probate for that house. The trust document alone accomplishes nothing for an asset still titled in your individual name. Our living trust page explains what funding a trust actually involves.
A will does not solve this problem either. A will only takes effect once a court validates it through probate, so a house passing under a will still goes through the same court process as a house with no estate plan at all.
The stakes are real. Formal probate is required in California for an estate with assets subject to probate above $208,850 gross value, for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, under Probate Code § 13100. On a $1,000,000 estate, the statutory fee schedule in Probate Code §§ 10800 and 10810 produces $23,000 for the executor and a separate $23,000 for the estate’s attorney, $46,000 combined before court costs, a bond, or any extraordinary fees for selling the house or handling litigation. Most California probate cases run 9 to 18 months from the date the court appoints a personal representative, according to the California Courts Self-Help Guide. Our probate page walks through what that process looks like start to finish.
Does putting the house in a trust protect my Prop 13 tax base?
Moving a home into a revocable living trust does not disturb the owner’s existing Prop 13 base year value. That much is settled. What a trust does not do is change the rules for what happens when the house passes to the next generation.
Reassessment on an inherited home turns on the Proposition 19 parent-child exclusion, not on whether title was held in a trust. To keep a parent’s low property tax base year value, a child must move into the inherited home as a principal residence within one year of the transfer and file for the homeowners’ exemption. The exclusion is capped at the home’s factored base year value plus $1,044,586 for transfers occurring February 16, 2025 through February 15, 2027, under Revenue and Taxation Code § 63.2 and California Constitution article XIII A, section 2.1. Holding title in a revocable living trust does not itself avoid this reassessment analysis. Skipping the occupancy requirement or the exemption filing triggers reassessment whether the house was in a trust or not.
Does a trust protect the house from nursing home costs?
Not while the trust is revocable. Assets in a revocable living trust remain fully countable for Medi-Cal eligibility purposes, because the grantor can revoke the trust and take the assets back at any time, under 42 U.S.C. section 1396p(d)(3)(A). Putting the house in a revocable trust does not shield it from being counted against you if you apply for long term care Medi-Cal.
There is a real protection here, but it applies after death, not during eligibility review. California limits Medi-Cal estate recovery to the deceased member’s probate estate, which is the federal minimum definition the state is required to use. Assets that pass outside probate, including assets held in a living trust, are not part of what the state can recover against, under Welfare and Institutions Code § 14009.5 and 42 U.S.C. section 1396p(b)(4)(A). Recovery only reaches services received at age 55 or older, and it is barred outright while there is a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child of any age.
What happens if my heirs disagree about the house after I’m gone?
The trustee is a fiduciary and has to administer the trust according to its terms and the law. California does not set a fixed statutory deadline for finishing that work, only a duty to act within a reasonable time, under Probate Code § 16000. A typical uncontested trust administration runs about 6 to 18 months as a practical matter, not because any statute requires it.
Beneficiaries are entitled to accountings from the trustee under Probate Code §§ 16060 through 16063, and a trustee may not use trust property, including a house held in trust, for personal benefit, under Probate Code § 16004. If a beneficiary believes the trustee is mismanaging the property, dragging out a sale, or ignoring their rights, that beneficiary can petition the probate court to compel an accounting, instruct the trustee, or in serious cases remove the trustee entirely, under Probate Code § 17200. Our trust administration page covers what a trustee is required to do and by when.
Figures verified July 2026.
What to do next
If the house is your family’s largest asset, get the deed and the trust funding right first. A trust that was never funded protects nothing. Then look at the Prop 19 occupancy and exemption timeline before a transfer happens, not after, since that one year window cannot be fixed retroactively once missed. An estate planning attorney can confirm whether your specific property, ownership structure, and family situation actually accomplish what you think they do.
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