September 2026
Every statement about California trust law below carries a section number from Division 9 of the California Probate Code, captured from the Legislative Counsel's official site on July 16, 2026. Where the law is silent, this guide says so. Where a popular rule is not California law, this guide says that too.
What California trust law actually is
California's trust statute is the California Trust Law, Division 9 of the Probate Code, sections 15000 through 19530, enacted in 1990. California has not adopted the Uniform Trust Code that most states use; its Trust Law predates the uniform act by a decade and follows its own numbering. That matters when you read a national estate-planning article: the rule described may be the uniform rule, not the California one. The differences are listed at the end of this guide.
Two other parts of the Probate Code govern trusts in this state: the capacity sections (sections 810 through 812) that decide whether a settlor could create a trust at all, and the Uniform Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities (sections 21200 through 21231) that decides how long a trust can last.
The legal requirements for creating a valid trust in California
Section 15200 lists five ways a trust may be created: a declaration by the owner that the owner holds property as trustee; a lifetime transfer to another person as trustee; a transfer by will or other instrument taking effect at death; the exercise of a power of appointment; or an enforceable promise to create a trust. Four elements must then be present.
- Intention. "A trust is created only if the settlor properly manifests an intention to create a trust." (Section 15201.)
- Trust property. "A trust is created only if there is trust property." (Section 15202.) An unfunded trust document is a plan, not a trust.
- Lawful purpose. A trust may be created for any purpose that is not illegal or against public policy. (Section 15203.)
- A beneficiary. A non-charitable trust must have a beneficiary. (Section 15205.)
For real property there is a writing requirement. Section 15206 provides that a trust in relation to real property is not valid unless evidenced by a written instrument signed by the trustee (or the trustee's agent authorized in writing), by a written instrument conveying the property signed by the settlor (or the settlor's agent authorized in writing), or by operation of law. Personal property is different: an oral trust of personal property can exist, but section 15207 allows its existence and terms to be established "only by clear and convincing evidence," and the settlor's oral declaration standing alone is not enough.
Notarization and witnesses. Division 9 contains no requirement that a living trust be notarized or witnessed to be valid. The code is silent on both. The one acknowledgment requirement in this area applies to a certification of trust under section 18100.5(c), which is a separate optional instrument, not to the trust itself. Many practitioners notarize anyway so the document can be recorded and accepted by title companies; that is practice, not statute.
Revocable by default, and how revocation works
Section 15400 makes a trust revocable by the settlor "unless a trust is expressly made irrevocable by the trust instrument." The section applies only where the settlor is domiciled in California when the trust is created, the instrument is executed in California, or the instrument selects California law. Section 15401 sets the methods of revocation: compliance with any method the trust instrument specifies, or a writing (other than a will) signed by the settlor and delivered to the trustee during the settlor's lifetime, unless the instrument makes its own method exclusive. An attorney-in-fact may revoke or modify only if the trust instrument expressly permits it (section 15401(c)). Modification follows the same procedure as revocation (section 15402).
The trust becomes irrevocable at the settlor's death or when the instrument says so. That is the moment most of the deadlines below begin to run.
The trustee's duties in California
Section 16000 imposes the duty to administer the trust according to the trust instrument and Division 9. Section 16040 sets the standard of care: the trustee must act "with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity would use." California adopted the Uniform Prudent Investor Act for trust investments as sections 16045 through 16054. Section 16461 limits how far a trust instrument can excuse a trustee: no clause can relieve a trustee of liability for breach committed intentionally, with gross negligence, in bad faith, or with reckless indifference to the beneficiary's interest.
The duty that generates the most litigation is the notification duty. Under section 16061.7, when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because a settlor died, or when the trustee of an irrevocable trust changes, the trustee must serve a written notification on each beneficiary and, at a settlor's death, on each heir of the deceased settlor. The notification must go out within 60 days (section 16061.7(f)). It must include the settlors' identities and the trust's execution date, each trustee's name, address, and telephone number, the principal place of administration, and a statement that the recipient is entitled on request to a true and complete copy of the terms of the trust. A settlor cannot waive this duty; section 16061.7(i) declares any such waiver "against public policy" and void.
The 120-day rule for contesting a California trust
When the notification is served because a settlor's death made the trust irrevocable, it must carry a warning in at least 10-point boldface: "You may not bring an action to contest the trust more than 120 days from the date this notification by the trustee is served upon you or 60 days from the date on which a copy of the terms of the trust is delivered to you during that 120-day period, whichever is later." Section 16061.8 makes that limit binding. Unlike the uniform rule, California's statute states no three-year outer limit; the clock is the notification.
No-contest clauses are enforceable in California only within the limits of sections 21310 and 21311: against a direct contest brought without probable cause, and against two other narrowly defined categories the clause must expressly invoke.
What rights beneficiaries have in a California trust
Beneficiaries of an irrevocable trust are entitled to the section 16061.7 notification described above and to a copy of the trust's terms on request. The trustee's duty to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed, and to account, sits in the same article of the Probate Code (sections 16060 through 16069). A beneficiary who cannot get an accounting may petition the superior court under section 17200. A trustee may be removed under section 15642 for breach of trust, insolvency, hostility that impairs administration, unfitness, or failure to act; and may resign under section 15640 with the settlor's consent while the trust is revocable, or otherwise with beneficiary consent or court approval. Successor appointment follows section 15660; bond is governed by section 15602.
What assets should not be placed in a California trust
The Probate Code does not publish a list of excluded assets, and any article that claims it does is not quoting the statute. The question is practical, not statutory. Retirement accounts are usually kept outside a trust because retitling them to a trust can be treated as a distribution; they pass by beneficiary designation instead, and a trust can be named as that beneficiary where appropriate. Vehicles, small bank accounts, and assets already passing by beneficiary designation or joint tenancy are commonly left out because they do not need the trust to avoid probate. A house is the asset most commonly placed in a California trust, precisely because real property is what probate is designed to reach; the transfer must satisfy section 15206's writing requirement, and the deed is recorded in the county where the property sits.
Taxes: how much can you inherit from a California trust without paying?
California imposes no state inheritance tax and no state estate tax. The only transfer tax that can apply is the federal estate tax, which reaches estates above the federal exemption in effect in the year of death; most California trusts never approach it. Income the trust earns is taxed, to the trust or to the beneficiaries, under ordinary income-tax rules. The "7-year rule" that appears in many search results is a United Kingdom inheritance-tax concept about gifts made within seven years of death. It is not California law and it does not appear anywhere in the Probate Code.
How long a California trust can last
California adopted the Uniform Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities as Probate Code sections 21200 through 21231. Under section 21205, a nonvested interest is valid if it is certain to vest or terminate within the common-law period (lives in being plus 21 years) or within 90 years after creation; section 21220 lets a court reform an instrument to bring it within the 90-year limit. This is why the "90-year rule" is real in California, while the 360-year and 1,000-year trusts advertised in other states are not available under California law.
Spendthrift protection and its exceptions
A trust instrument may restrain the transfer of a beneficiary's interest in income (section 15300) and principal (section 15301). The exceptions are specific: a self-settled trust gives the settlor no protection against the settlor's own creditors (section 15304); child and spousal support judgments can reach the interest (section 15305); felony restitution judgments can reach it (section 15305.5); public-support reimbursement can reach it (section 15306); and a general judgment creditor can reach up to 25 percent of distributions, subject to a support-needs floor (section 15306.5).
Certification of trust: how a trustee proves the trust without showing it
Section 18100.5 lets a trustee present a certification of trust instead of the full instrument. It confirms the trust's existence and execution date, the settlors and current trustees, the trustee's powers, whether the trust is revocable and who can revoke it, the signature authority among co-trustees, the trust's tax identification number, how title should be taken, and the legal description of any real property. It must be an acknowledged declaration signed by all currently acting trustees, and it may be recorded. A person who relies on it without actual knowledge that it is wrong is protected, and a third party who demands the full trust in bad faith after being offered a proper certification is liable for the resulting damages and attorney's fees (section 18100.5(h)).
Will versus living trust in California
A will governs property in the decedent's name at death and passes through probate. A funded revocable trust holds title during life, so the same property passes by the trust's terms without a probate proceeding; the trustee administers it under Division 9 rather than under court supervision. Most California estate plans use both: the trust to hold the assets, and a pour-over will to catch anything left outside it. The choice turns on what you own, whether it is titled in a way that avoids probate already, and whether you want a private administration or a court-supervised one.
Types of trusts used in California estate plans
The statute does not create categories; practice does. A revocable living trust is the working instrument of most California estate plans: the settlor is usually the first trustee, the trust document names a successor trustee, and the trust's assets pass at death without a probate court proceeding. Irrevocable trusts give up the settlor's power to revoke in exchange for creditor or tax positioning, subject to the spendthrift limits above. A testamentary trust is created by a will and takes effect only after probate. A special needs trust holds assets for a beneficiary receiving public benefits without disqualifying them; section 15306's public-support reimbursement rule is the provision to read first. Married couples in a community-property state commonly use a single joint trust, keeping community and separate property identified inside it. Whatever the type, the four elements of section 15201 through 15205 and the section 15206 writing rule for real property apply to all of them.
Trust administration after a death: the sequence
When the settlor dies, the successor trustee takes office under the trust document and section 15660. Within 60 days the trustee serves the section 16061.7 notification on every beneficiary and heir. The trustee then marshals the trust assets, obtains a tax identification number for the now-irrevocable trust, keeps beneficiaries reasonably informed under sections 16060 through 16069, and distributes according to the terms of the trust. A beneficiary who believes the trustee has committed a breach of fiduciary duty, or who cannot obtain a copy of the trust document or an accounting, may file a petition in the probate court under section 17200 and, where the grounds in section 15642 are met, ask the court to remove the trustee. Trust administration is private and unsupervised unless someone petitions; that is the practical difference from probate, and it is why the notification and accounting duties carry the weight they do.
Frequently asked questions
Can a trustee also be a beneficiary? Yes. Nothing in Division 9 prohibits it, and the settlor of a revocable living trust is ordinarily both trustee and beneficiary during life. A trustee-beneficiary still owes the section 16040 standard of care and the duty of loyalty to the other beneficiaries.
How long does a trustee have to distribute assets? The statute sets no fixed number of days. The trustee must administer the trust according to its terms and the prudent-person standard; distribution follows once debts, taxes, and the notification period are handled. Unreasonable delay is a breach a beneficiary can bring to the court.
Can a trustee be held personally liable? Yes, for breach of trust, subject to section 16461's rule that an exculpation clause cannot excuse intentional breach, gross negligence, bad faith, or reckless indifference.
Is an oral trust valid in California? For personal property, only with clear and convincing evidence beyond the settlor's own declaration (section 15207). For real property, never without a signed writing (section 15206).
Does a will revoke a California trust? No. Section 15401 requires a writing other than a will unless the trust instrument provides its own method.
Where California differs from the Uniform Trust Code
- Revocation cannot be accomplished by a later will in California (section 15401 requires "a writing, other than a will"); the uniform code permits it.
- An attorney-in-fact needs authority in the trust instrument itself (section 15401(c)); the uniform code also accepts authority in the power of attorney.
- The contest deadline is 120 days from notification with no three-year backstop (section 16061.8); the uniform code has both.
- A general judgment creditor can reach 25 percent of distributions (section 15306.5); the uniform code has no such provision.
- The certification of trust must be acknowledged and signed by all acting trustees (section 18100.5(c)); the uniform form needs neither.
- The perpetuities period is the uniform 90 years, not the extended periods many states adopted.
Other states in this series
- Florida trust law, verified
- Georgia trust law, verified
- New York trust law, verified
- South Carolina trust law, verified
- Texas trust law, verified
Verified sources
All sections were read from leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, the Legislative Counsel's official publication, on July 16, 2026. Each carries its own enactment history line on that site; Division 9 was enacted by Stats. 1990, Ch. 79; section 16061.8 was last amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 30 (AB 1745), effective January 1, 2023; section 18100.5 was last amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 136, effective January 1, 2005. Readers who need the verbatim text with capture date and source line for any section above can request the Trust Statute Service research package for California.
This guide states the statute. It is not legal advice for any particular trust, and it does not replace counsel where a dispute, a tax question, or an unusual asset is involved.