Firstly, to create a legally binding trust in the State of California, you simply need to draft the document naming grantor, trustee(s), and beneficiaries. Hopefully done with a professional estate litigation attorney! Once everything is in order, start transferring assets into it. Remember that if you share ownership in any property with another individual, that person must sign the trust as well.

Now, you may be wondering, whether or not there is a minimum amount of assets required to be in the trust in order to make the trust active. Luckily, the answer in California, is no. You may create a living trust for an estate of any size if you wish to do so. Of course, for small estates up to $150,000, assets outside of a trust can avoid the probate process. However, having these assets properly funded into a trust can make the administration of the estate a lot easier and will take less time to distribute when everything is accounted for from the start.

Contact a professional Living Trust Attorney to draft a solid trust that you can begin transferring assets into immediately.

*This blog entry was not written by an Attorney and should not be constituted as professional legal advice.