How to Create a California Trust
Have you ever wondered how to create a trust or a living revocable trust in California? There are a few main parts of all trusts. The first part is you, the settlor or testator of a living revocable trust. A trust can be created by declaration by the owner of the property, transfer of property by the owner during the owner’s lifetime to another person as trustee, transfer property by will or other instrument taking effect upon the death of the owner, or by enforceable promise to create a trust. See California Probate Code § 15200. We offer free consultations regarding how to create a trust in California and you will get the personal service you deserve for a reasonable fee. Call toll free at 1-877-963-9543 to start planning for your future.
A settlor or testator can only create a trust by manifesting their intent to create the trust. This is commonly called the declaration of trust with trust corpus. There cannot be a valid trust unless there is property in the trust. Once the trust is created it must be funded.
Two of the most important steps in how to create a trust in California is naming the trustee, the person who will carry out your wishes, and naming the beneficiaries of the living revocable trust. It is always important to plan for contingencies such as the trustee, or trustees, you name not being alive when the creator of the trust passes away. As part of a living revocable trust in California naming successor trustees is just as important as naming your first choice for trustee. The same is true of the beneficiaries. What happens if one or all of the named beneficiaries has passed away before the creator of the trust passes away? If there are no beneficiaries of the California living revocable trust then what is there for the trust to do? Nothing right.
After naming the trustee, a successor trustee, beneficiaries and successor beneficiaries, you must provide the powers of the trustee and what the beneficiaries will receive from the trust. One important thing to note regarding how to create a trust in California is that the settlor, trustee, and beneficiary cannot be the same person or the trust is deemed to have “merged” the equitable and legal interests and therefore be terminated. The property contained in the trust will be considered property of the beneficiary outright.
Trusts can be very versatile, from transferring title in real property, to providing financial assistance to someone for the remainder of their life. The terms of the living revocable trust need to be very clear so that there is no ambiguity regarding the creator’s wishes.
A trust that is created for real property cannot be valid unless there is evidence of the trust in writing and signed by the trustee, a writing transferring the real property into the trust by the creator of the trust or the trust can be valid upon operation of law. See California Probate Code §15206. How to create a trust in California or living revocable trust can be a complicated process.
