Fund your living trust, not just draft it
A living trust only keeps your home out of probate if the home is actually transferred into it. We prepare and record the deed that moves your property into it — and claim the right exemption so it isn’t reassessed — for a flat $275 per property.
Funding your trust means moving your assets — most importantly, your home — out of your personal name and into the name of your living trust. It only keeps out of probate what’s actually been transferred in, so until a new deed is recorded, your home is still in your name and can still go through probate. TruPoint Legal prepares the deed, claims the right exemption so your property taxes don’t change, files the form the Assessor needs, and e-records it the same day in any of California’s 58 counties — for a flat $275 per property.
A signed trust in a drawer protects nothing
Online and DIY services — LegalZoom and the like — can produce the document cheaply, but they usually stop at the paperwork. They don’t transfer your home into it, and they rarely make clear that funding is a separate, essential step.
So the binder gets signed, notarized, and tucked into a file cabinet — and the house is never deeded in. Years later, the family discovers the home was left out, and it goes through the very probate the plan was meant to avoid.
- It only controls what you’ve actually moved into it.
- An unfunded home still goes through probate — slow, public, and costly.
- The fix is simple once you know to do it: record the deed.
Three steps to get your home inside the trust
We confirm the details
We review your trust and current deed to confirm its exact name and how your title is held today.
We prepare the deed
We draft the trust transfer deed, claim the right exemption so it isn’t reassessed, and arrange notarization.
We record & file
We e-record the deed the same day and file the change-in-ownership form with the County Assessor, then send you the recorded copy.
Done right, your property taxes don’t change
Moving your home into your own revocable trust isn’t a real change of ownership — you’re still the one who owns and benefits from it. So it shouldn’t trigger a reassessment, and your property tax bill should stay the same.
But that only holds if the right exemption is claimed on the deed and the matching form — the BOE form — is filed with the County Assessor, confirming the beneficial ownership hasn’t changed. Miss that step and a home can be reassessed by mistake. We handle both, every time.
A short list, and we take it from there
- Your trust document, or the pages showing its exact name and date.
- Your current recorded deed — we can pull it for you if you don’t have it.
- The property address — we’ll locate the legal description.
Don’t have one yet, or need to update it? We can help with that too:
Your deed is prepared and reviewed by Quinnie Do, a registered and bonded Legal Document Assistant, #268 in Santa Clara County — with service in English and Vietnamese, and Spanish through an on-staff partner.
Need it notarized?
Your deed must be notarized before it can be recorded. Our affiliate Fingerscan Digital offers mobile and in-office notary, so signing and recording can happen together.
Know the price before we begin
Includes drafting the deed into your trust, claiming the right exemption, and documentary transfer tax. Funding is priced per property and kept separate from drafting the document itself, so you only pay for what you need.
County recording fees are collected at intake and remitted to the county on your behalf. The fees shown are TruPoint Legal’s preparation fees only.
Your funding questions, answered plainly
Get your home into the trust
Call or get started online, and we’ll tell you exactly what’s needed and the flat fee before any work begins.