When property was left outside the trust.
It is among the most common discoveries in trust administration, and among the most unsettling. A parent signed a living trust, often years ago, yet the family home or an account was never transferred into it, or was taken out for a refinance and never put back. The family is left to wonder whether the careful planning has come undone. Often it has not.
A remedy rooted in three decades of case law
For more than three decades, California courts have recognized that a trust can hold property even when the deed was never changed. In Estate of Heggstad (1993), the Court of Appeal held that a settlor’s written declaration that she held property as trustee could be sufficient to bring that property into her trust. Probate Code section 850 gives a trustee a way to ask the court to confirm it, and later decisions, including Ukkestad v. RBS Asset Finance, Inc. (2015), have recognized that a broad assignment of real property to a trust may suffice where evidence outside the document identifies the property with reasonable certainty.
Where judgment matters
The statute supplies a procedure, not a formula. Each petition rests on the written record: the language of the trust and any assignment, how the property is described, when and how it was acquired, and what its owner evidently intended. Judges exercise genuine discretion in weighing that evidence, and expectations are not uniform from one courtroom, or one county, to the next. Two families holding nearly identical documents may meet different questions. Anticipating how a particular court is likely to read a record, and presenting it persuasively, is a matter of experience. Attorney Cynthia Lee has practiced since 2001 and has handled trust confirmation petitions in courts across California, including San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Los Angeles counties.
A narrower path that keeps the plan intact
- A narrower proceeding: a confirmation petition is typically more focused than a full probate administration
- The plan prevails: once confirmed, the property passes as the trust directs, alongside everything else it holds
- A different cost structure: California’s statutory probate fees are calculated on the gross value of the estate, without regard to the mortgage, and a confirmation petition is not a probate administration
- Authority to act: with the court’s order, the trustee can manage, sell or distribute the property with the rest of the trust
We examine the record and present the petition
Our office examines the trust, the deeds and the surrounding documents, identifies the most suitable path and, when a petition is warranted, prepares and presents it through the hearing and the recording of the order.
- Reviewing the trust, deeds and related documents
- Recommending the most appropriate course
- Preparing and filing the petition with supporting evidence
- Required notices and the court hearing
- Recording the court’s order for real property
- Trustees who find a home or account left outside the trust
- Families who discover an old deed was never updated
Our petition services are provided as a complete engagement, with the scope and fees explained before we begin. We prepare the petition and supporting documents ourselves, so we can stand behind what is presented to the court.
“Cynthia Lee and Ashley helped me tremendously in dealing with the administration of my parent's trust from what needed to happen when through to the disbursement of the trust assets… I would return for any similar needs.”
Testimonials describe individual experiences. Results depend on the facts and law applicable to each matter and will differ when those facts differ.
How can I tell whether a petition will succeed?
No two records are alike. We review the documents, consider how the court is likely to regard them, and recommend a petition, or a different course, only after that review.
What if the trust never mentions the house?
That does not necessarily end the inquiry. Other signed documents and the surrounding circumstances may still support a petition, or another procedure may be better suited. This is where careful review matters most.
Is this the same as probate?
No. It is a narrower request that the court confirm the property belongs to the trust, so that it can be administered with everything else.
Found property outside the trust?
Meetings are by appointment, weekdays 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM, by Zoom or at our offices. Call 888.380.2288 or 415.693.8882, or request a time online. Consultations in English, Cantonese or Mandarin.