California Living Trust Laws: The Sections That Matter

People search “California uniform trust code” expecting a single statute with a number they can look up. There isn’t one, and the difference matters when you read a trust article written for another state. This page maps the California sections a family meets, in the order they tend to come up.

Has California adopted the Uniform Trust Code?

No. California trust law is its own statute, the Trust Law in Division 9 of the Probate Code. The Uniform Law Commission publishes the Uniform Trust Code, and about three dozen jurisdictions have enacted it, but California isn’t on the list. California’s own trust statutes were already so complete that the Uniform Trust Code’s drafters used them as a model, which is a large part of why the state never adopted it (see the ACTEC Law Journal article Just Say No: Reasons States Haven’t Adopted the UTC).

California did adopt two uniform acts inside its own code. The Uniform Prudent Investor Act is Article 2.5 of the trustee-duties chapter, and the uniform act on gifts from a will to a trust is why a pour-over will works. The two acts are pieces, not the Uniform Trust Code.

The practical consequence: an article that cites Uniform Trust Code section numbers is describing another state’s rule. Trustee duties, notice deadlines, and contest windows in California come from the Probate Code sections below.

Where is California trust law?

It’s Probate Code Division 9, sections 15000 to 19530, titled the Trust Law. Section 15000 says the division may be cited as the Trust Law, and the division is organized into parts that track how a trust lives.

• Part 2, §§ 15200 to 15414: creation, validity, modification, and termination.
• Part 3, §§ 15600 to 15805: trustees and beneficiaries, including compensation.
• Part 4, §§ 16000 to 16632: administration, including duties, the prudent investor rule, and reporting.
• Part 5, §§ 17000 to 17457: court proceedings concerning trusts.
• Part 6, §§ 18000 to 18201: rights of third persons, such as creditors and banks.

Two topics sit outside Division 9. The no contest clause rules are in Division 11, and the petition to recover property that belongs in a trust is in Division 2, Part 19. Both are in the table.

Which California trust laws does a family run into?

These ten. Each row gives the section, what it does in plain words, and where you’re likely to meet it. I checked every number against the current text on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.

Topic	Section	What it does
Creation and requirements	§§ 15200 to 15212	Ways to create a trust, intent, trust property, a beneficiary, and a signed writing for real property.
Revocation	§ 15401	How a revocable trust is revoked: the method in the trust, or a signed writing delivered to the trustee.
Trustee duties	§§ 16000 to 16015	Loyalty, impartiality, no self-dealing, preserving and investing trust property, keeping it separate.
Duty to inform and account	§§ 16060, 16061.7, 16062	Keep beneficiaries reasonably informed, serve the notification after a settlor dies, and account at least annually.
Notice and contest window	§ 16061.8	Closes the door on a trust contest 120 days after the notification is served, with a 60-day extension in one case.
Beneficiary petitions	§ 17200	A trustee or beneficiary can ask the court to construe the trust, compel information or an account, or remove a trustee.
Heggstad petition	§ 850	Asks the court to confirm that property still titled in a decedent’s name belongs to the trust.
No contest clauses	§§ 21310 to 21315	Limits when a clause that penalizes a challenge can be enforced.
Trustee compensation	§ 15681	If the trust is silent, the trustee gets reasonable compensation.
Prudent investor rule	§§ 16045 to 16054	The investment standard: reasonable care, diversification, judged without hindsight.

What does California require to create a valid living trust?

A settlor has to manifest an intent to create a trust, there has to be trust property, and there has to be a beneficiary. Those elements come from § 15201, § 15202, and § 15205. A trust can be created by an owner declaring that he or she holds property as trustee, or by transferring property to another person as trustee (§ 15200).

A trust involving real property has an extra requirement. Under § 15206, it isn’t valid unless evidenced by a written instrument signed by the trustee, a written instrument conveying the property signed by the settlor, or by operation of law. That’s why the house needs a deed, and why an unsigned draft in a drawer does nothing.

Nothing in §§ 15200 to 15212 requires a notary, a witness, or a court filing. Notarization becomes necessary later. A deed can’t be recorded unless its execution is acknowledged (Gov. Code § 27287). The longer explanation is in what a living trust is and how it works in California.

How is a living trust revoked or changed in California?

A trust is revocable unless the instrument says it’s irrevocable (§ 15400). It can be revoked by the method in the trust, or by a signed writing, other than a will, delivered to the trustee during the settlor’s lifetime (§ 15401). If the trust says its own method is the exclusive one, only that method works.

Unless the instrument provides otherwise, a revocable trust can be modified by the same procedure (§ 15402). Married couples add a wrinkle: community property put in trust stays community property if the trust is revocable and can be modified only with both spouses joining or consenting (Fam. Code § 761). The steps are in how to revoke a trust in California.

What does a trustee have to do?

A trustee has to administer the trust according to its terms and, unless the terms say otherwise, according to the Trust Law (§ 16000). The core duties run from § 16002 through § 16014, and they’re stricter than most people expect.

• Act solely in the interests of the beneficiaries (§ 16002) and deal impartially when there’s more than one (§ 16003).
• Don’t use trust property for personal profit or take part in a transaction with an interest adverse to the beneficiary (§ 16004).
• Take and keep control of trust property, and make it productive (§ 16006, § 16007).
• Keep trust property separate from the trustee’s own (§ 16009).
• Don’t delegate what the trustee can reasonably be required to do personally (§ 16012).

While the settlor is alive and able, most of these duties run to the settlor. During a revocable trust’s life, the person holding the power to revoke has the beneficiary rights, and the trustee’s duties are owed to that person (§ 15800). A successor trustee steps into the full set of duties at the settlor’s death, which is covered in what a successor trustee does in California.

Investments carry their own rule. The trustee has to invest as a prudent investor would, using reasonable care, skill, and caution (§ 16047), has a duty to diversify unless it’s prudent not to (§ 16048), and is judged by the facts at the time of the decision, not by hindsight (§ 16051). If the trust doesn’t set the trustee’s pay, the trustee is entitled to reasonable compensation (§ 15681).

What notice do beneficiaries get when the person who made the trust dies?

The trustee has to serve a written notification on each beneficiary and each heir of the deceased settlor when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable at death (§ 16061.7). It’s due not later than 60 days after the event, or 60 days after the trustee learns of a person entitled to notice. It has to say who the settlor and trustees are, where the trust is administered, and that the recipient can ask for a copy of the trust terms.

That notice starts a clock. A person served with it can’t bring an action to contest the trust more than 120 days from the date of service, or 60 days from the date a copy of the trust terms is delivered during that 120-day period, whichever is later (§ 16061.8). The clock runs even if the notice went out late.

A worked example shows the dates. A settlor dies on March 3, and the trustee serves the notification on April 15, which is 43 days after death. The 120 days run to August 13. If the trustee delivers a copy of the trust terms on July 20, 60 days from that delivery is September 18, and that later date controls. A beneficiary who’s thinking about a challenge needs litigation counsel, and I don’t handle contests. What I can tell a family is which date the window closes, and what the notice they received says. The notice itself is explained in what to do if you received a trust notice under 16061.7.

What can a beneficiary demand from a trustee?

The duty is to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed (§ 16060), and on reasonable request the trustee has to report information about the administration that’s relevant to the beneficiary’s interest (§ 16061). The trustee also has to account at least annually, at the termination of the trust, and upon a change of trustee, to each beneficiary entitled to current distributions (§ 16062).

If the trustee doesn’t comply, a beneficiary can petition the court. Under § 17200, a trustee or beneficiary can ask the court to compel a copy of the trust terms, to compel information if the trustee hasn’t provided it within 60 days of a reasonable written request, to compel an account on the same 60-day trigger, to review the reasonableness of the trustee’s compensation, to remove a trustee, or to compel redress of a breach of trust. The practical side is in trustee accounting requirements in California.

What is a Heggstad petition and what does § 850 have to do with it?

A Heggstad petition asks the court to confirm that property still titled in a person’s own name at death was trust property. It’s filed under § 850, which lets a trustee or interested person petition where the trustee has a claim to property that someone else holds title to or possession of. The name comes from a California Court of Appeal decision.

Families need it when a trust was signed but the house was never deeded in. In my experience the outcome depends on evidence that the owner meant the property to be trust property, and it’s generally a smaller proceeding than a full probate. Prevention is cheaper still. That’s why trust funding gets so much attention. The petition itself is walked through in Heggstad petitions in California.

Can a no contest clause stop a family fight?

Less often than people think. Under § 21311, a no contest clause is enforced only against a direct contest brought without probable cause, and against two other types of pleading only if the clause expressly says so: a challenge that property wasn’t the transferor’s at the time of transfer, and a creditor’s claim. A no contest clause is strictly construed (§ 21312), and the rules apply notwithstanding a contrary provision in the instrument (§ 21314).

The part applies to an instrument that became irrevocable on or after January 1, 2001 (§ 21315). Read the details in no contest clauses in California.

Three other sections families ask about

• Creditors. If the settlor keeps the power to revoke, the trust property is subject to the settlor’s creditors to the extent of that power during the settlor’s lifetime (§ 18200). A revocable trust isn’t asset protection.
• Certification of trust. A trustee can present a certification of trust to a bank or title company instead of handing over the whole trust (§ 18100.5). See certification of trust.
• Recording the trust. A trust relating to real property may be recorded with the county recorder (§ 15210), though most families record only the deed.

Frequently asked questions

Does California have the Uniform Trust Code?

No. California’s trust statutes are the Trust Law in Division 9 of the Probate Code (§ 15000). It shares some ideas with the uniform act, and it adopted the Uniform Prudent Investor Act, but the section numbers and several rules differ.

What is the main California law on trusts?

Probate Code Division 9, the Trust Law, sections 15000 to 19530. It covers creating, changing, administering, and litigating trusts. Related rules on no contest clauses and on recovering property for a trust are in other divisions of the Probate Code.

Does a California living trust have to be notarized or filed with a court?

The creation sections don’t require either. The deed is different: a deed must be acknowledged before it can be recorded (Gov. Code § 27287), so the signing is done before a notary in practice. A trust isn’t filed with the court unless someone brings a proceeding under it.

How long do beneficiaries have to contest a California trust?

The window is 120 days from service of the trustee’s notification, or 60 days from delivery of the trust terms during that period, whichever is later (§ 16061.8). The window applies to a person served with the notification. A person who thinks they have a claim should get litigation counsel now, not after day 100.

Can a trustee be removed in California?

Yes. A beneficiary or co-trustee can petition to remove a trustee under § 17200, which lists appointing or removing a trustee among the internal affairs the court can decide. Removal turns on the facts, and the court looks at breaches of the duties above.

Do I need a lawyer to set up a California living trust?

Nothing in the creation statutes requires one. The mistakes come from funding and drafting, not from the statute. See the pros and cons of trusts for California families for how to decide.

Is a living trust a public record in California?

Not by default. A trust becomes part of the court record only if someone files it in a proceeding, and most trusts are administered privately. The recorder gets the deed, and a trust that relates to real property may be recorded but usually isn’t (§ 15210).

The glossary entries for the living trust and revocable trust define the terms used above in one place. If you have a specific trust in front of you and need to see what the sections above mean for it, the fees for a review are on the fees page.