Will & Trust Attorney Oxnard & Ventura

Quick answer: A will tells a California court how to divide your property after you die. A living trust does the same thing but avoids probate entirely, meaning your family skips the courthouse and gets what you left them faster and more privately. Ridley Law has helped Oxnard and Ventura County families set up both since 2010. Call (805) 244-5291 for a free consultation.

A few months ago, a family from Oxnard came in after losing their father. He had a handwritten note saying who should get the house on Vineyard Avenue and who should get the boat at Channel Islands Harbor. No formal will, no trust. What followed was months of hearings at the Ventura County probate courthouse in Oxnard, thousands of dollars in court fees, and a family that almost stopped speaking to each other over a dispute that a properly drafted will would have prevented in an afternoon.

That story is not unusual here. Ventura County has roughly 830,000 residents, many of them homeowners with property values that make their estates large enough to trigger full probate but small enough that they never thought of themselves as “wealthy enough” to need an estate plan. The truth is simpler: if you own a home, a car, a retirement account, or a bank account, you have an estate. And without a plan, California decides what happens to it.

Wills and Trusts: What Each One Does

What a will actually does

A will is a written document, signed by you in front of two witnesses, that tells a California probate judge how to divide your property. It names an executor (the person in charge of carrying out your wishes), identifies your beneficiaries (who gets what), and if you have minor children, names a guardian for them.

A will does not avoid probate. Every will goes through Ventura County Superior Court before a dime changes hands. As of 2026, California requires formal probate for estates over $208,850 in personal property value (real estate follows a separate track). The probate process is public, takes months to over a year, and carries court and attorney fees that scale with the estate’s value. For a $700,000 estate, statutory attorney fees alone run about $19,000.

That said, a will is still worth having. It controls who raises your children, it covers property that falls outside a trust, and it serves as a backup document for anything you forgot to put elsewhere. Every estate plan at Ridley Law includes one.

What a living trust does differently

A revocable living trust (also called an inter vivos trust) is a legal document that holds title to your property while you are alive and transfers it to your named beneficiaries when you die, without court involvement. You remain in control as the trustee during your lifetime. You can add or remove property, change beneficiaries, or revoke the trust entirely at any time.

When you die, your successor trustee steps in, follows the instructions in the trust document, and distributes assets directly to your beneficiaries. No probate. No public record. No waiting for a judge’s calendar to open up. Ventura County families who own real estate in Oxnard, Ventura, Camarillo, or Thousand Oaks consistently find that the trust route is faster, cheaper, and far less painful for the people they leave behind.

An irrevocable trust works differently. Once created, you generally cannot change its terms. In exchange for that loss of flexibility, you gain potential estate tax protection and some shielding of assets from creditors. This option matters most for larger estates or specific Medi-Cal planning situations.

The Four Ways Property Passes at Death in California

No estate plan should fixate on one tool. Here is how property actually moves after someone dies in California:

Through a will (probate required)

Property titled in your name alone, with no beneficiary designation and no joint owner, goes through probate according to your will. If you have no will, California’s intestate succession law decides who inherits, and the result often surprises surviving family members.

Through a trust (no probate)

Property titled in the name of your trust passes directly to your beneficiaries. The catch: the trust only controls what is inside it. A common mistake Ventura County residents make is creating a trust and then forgetting to transfer the deed on their Oxnard or Port Hueneme home into the trust’s name. That house still goes through probate.

Through beneficiary designations (no probate)

Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and some bank accounts pass directly to whoever you named as beneficiary, regardless of what your will or trust says. These designations override everything else. Review them after every major life event: marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, a death in the family.

Through joint ownership (no probate)

Property held as joint tenancy with right of survivorship passes automatically to the surviving owner. Married couples in California often hold property as community property with right of survivorship, which achieves the same result with a favorable tax treatment. Joint ownership works fine for some situations but can create problems if you have children from a prior relationship or if your joint owner faces creditor claims.

What Happens to Ventura County Estates Without a Plan

If you die without a will or trust in California, your estate goes through probate under the state’s intestate succession rules. Those rules favor your spouse and children, but they do not account for the people you actually care about, your unmarried partner, a close friend, a stepchild you raised but never legally adopted, or a charity you supported for decades.

Ventura County probate is handled at the Juvenile and Probate Courthouse at 4353 E. Vineyard Avenue in Oxnard. Filing fees, publication costs, and statutory fees for executors and attorneys are paid out of the estate before any beneficiary receives anything. The process typically runs six months to two years, and it is a matter of public record, meaning anyone can look up what you owned and who got it.

A funded living trust sidesteps all of that. For most Oxnard and Ventura County homeowners, the combination of a living trust, a “pour-over” will (a backup that catches anything left out of the trust), updated beneficiary designations, and durable powers of attorney covers the full picture.

Working with an Attorney at Ridley Law

Eric D. Ridley has practiced estate planning in Ventura County since 2010, with an office in Port Hueneme. He works with families across Oxnard, Ventura, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, and the surrounding area. The goal in every case is a plan that is specific enough to actually work, simple enough to understand without a law degree, and properly funded so the documents do what they promise.

Most clients come in without knowing whether they need a will, a trust, or both. That is exactly what an initial consultation is for. There is no charge for that first conversation, and no pressure to sign anything that day.

To schedule, call (805) 244-5291 or visit the estate planning page to learn more. If you are specifically looking for help with a will or a living trust, those pages walk through each option in more detail.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a will avoid probate in California?

No. Every will must go through the California probate court system before assets can be distributed. In Ventura County, that means filing at the probate courthouse in Oxnard. Probate is public, takes months, and carries fees that scale with your estate’s size. A funded living trust is the main tool for avoiding it.

What is the probate threshold in California right now?

As of 2026, estates with personal property worth more than $208,850 require full formal probate in California. Real property follows a separate set of rules. Estates under that amount may qualify for a simplified affidavit process. (The threshold adjusts every three years under California Probate Code § 13100.)

Can I write my own will in California?

Yes. California recognizes handwritten (holographic) wills if the material provisions and signature are entirely in your handwriting. The problem is that handwritten wills are more likely to be challenged, more likely to contain ambiguities, and more likely to leave out things that matter, like a guardian nomination or a residuary clause. A properly drafted will with an attorney takes a single appointment and costs a fraction of what a probate dispute costs.

What is a pour-over will and why do I need one if I have a trust?

A pour-over will is a backup document that works alongside your living trust. If you die owning property that was never transferred into your trust, the pour-over will catches it and directs it into the trust, where your trustee can then distribute it under the trust’s terms. Without a pour-over will, that stray property goes through probate under California’s intestate rules. Ridley Law includes a pour-over will with every living trust.