A revocable living trust holds title to assets you transfer into it. If it is funded, those assets typically skip probate. Formed only in six licensed states.
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From the owner
Karim covers living trusts, funding the house, and what the first call at Valor includes. About a minute thirty-five.
About one in eight adults has a living trust. People treat it as optional, something to add after the will. For a house in your name, they do different jobs. A will still goes through probate. A funded living trust is how that house can pass without that court process. It sits next to the will. It is not a substitute, and it is not a later upgrade. Signing the trust does not move the house. Title does. Until the deed is transferred to the trustee under state law, the house stays in your name and may still go through probate. That transfer is called funding, and it has to happen while you can still sign the deed. A 401(k) or IRA generally follows the beneficiary form, not the deed. Naming the trust as beneficiary can change tax results, so that needs tax advice and legal advice together. A typical revocable living trust also does not hide assets from creditors while you are alive. Valor Tax Relief starts that review with the house. An attorney who is also a CPA and an IRS Enrolled Agent explains why a trust would or would not fit, what you already have, what still has to happen to title and beneficiaries, and what you would receive if you hire: the trust, the funding steps, and a quote. If you want more detail, call Valor Tax Relief for a detailed, accurate, and complete consultation.
Who writes the papers
Geoff writes the documents. California Bar 331734, active, certified in tax law. He handles trusts, estates, wills, and probate.
You create the trust while you are alive. You are usually the trustee at first. You name a successor trustee to step in if you cannot act, and beneficiaries who receive property at death.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains a revocable living trust as a way to hold property and pass it without a typical probate proceeding, provided the property is actually in the trust. The document alone is not enough.
Probate fees, waiting periods, and whether a small-estate shortcut exists all depend on the state. We will not quote a national average as if it applied to your county.
If title never changes, the house is still yours in your individual name.
If you want the house to skip probate, the deed has to be retitled in the name of the trustee of your trust. Recording rules and transfer-tax questions are state and county specific. We walk through that with you. We do not mail a deed and call the job done if title never changes.
An unfunded trust does not move the house. The paper sits in a folder. The house is still yours in your individual name, and it typically still goes through probate.
If you want the house to skip probate, the deed has to be retitled in the name of the trustee of your trust. An unfunded trust does not move the house.
Bank and brokerage accounts can often be retitled or payable-on-death. A 401(k) or IRA is different. You usually keep the plan in your name and update the beneficiary form. Putting the trust on a retirement account without tax review can create income tax problems for the people who inherit.
The living trust we mean on this page is revocable. You can change it or cancel it while you have capacity. Because you still control the assets, they remain yours for creditor and tax purposes in the usual case.
Irrevocable trusts are a different tool. People use them for Medicaid planning, certain tax structures, or gifts they cannot take back. We do not sell those as a menu item here. If your facts call for one, the attorney will say so after review.
A pour-over will catches anything that never made it into the trust. Those leftovers may still go through probate. A trust also does not, in most states, appoint a guardian for a minor child. That language belongs in a will.
Forming a trust is the practice of law. Geoffrey David Plourde, California State Bar No. 331734, Active, Certified Specialist in Taxation Law.
The practice still reviews each matter. We will not form a trust where he cannot practice.
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We are not the IRS, CFPB, or Mayo Clinic. These links are the public pages we used for the tax and medical facts on this site.
A living trust is a legal arrangement you create while you are alive. You transfer assets into it and name who manages them if you cannot, and who receives them when you die. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes it as a way to hold and pass property outside a typical probate proceeding, if the trust is funded.
Funding means changing title. For a house, that is a new deed into the name of the trustee of your trust. For a bank or brokerage account, the institution updates the owner. Until that happens, the asset is still yours in your individual name.
Yes. A pour-over will sends leftover assets into the trust after death. Those leftover assets may still go through probate. The will is also how you typically name a guardian for minor children.
No. While you are alive and the trust is revocable, the assets are generally still treated as yours. Do not buy a living trust as an asset-protection product.
A plain revocable living trust does not. For 2026, the IRS basic exclusion amount is $15 million per person. If your estate is near that number, or you have a state estate tax issue, say so on the call. That is a different project than a simple living trust.
Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, and Wyoming, where Geoffrey D. Plourde is licensed. California is confirmed (State Bar No. 331734). The practice still reviews each matter. We will not form a trust in a state where he cannot practice.
A kit is a form. An attorney-prepared trust is drafted for your people, your house, and your state signing rules. Funding instructions are part of the work. A kit does not retitle your deed.
A revocable living trust you can change or cancel while you have capacity. An irrevocable trust is harder to unwind and is used for other goals. This page is about revocable living trusts unless the attorney tells you otherwise after reviewing your facts.
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