SERVING FULLERTON

Fullerton Estate Planning Lawyer

Living trusts, wills, and powers of attorney at a flat fee, with direct attorney access.

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Anywhere in California
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Trust deed included
Prepared for your home

Prepared by Jay S. Yu, Esq., California Licensed Attorney · Yu & Yu Law, Fullerton · Last reviewed October 2026

SERVING FULLERTON

Estate planning in Fullerton

My office is in Fullerton, on Harbor Boulevard north of downtown, so Fullerton is home ground for Yu & Yu Law. Many of my Fullerton clients have lived in the same house for decades, in neighborhoods like Sunny Hills and the streets around Hillcrest Park, and their children have long since moved out. Others are newer homeowners with young children. Either way, a plan starts with the same two questions: who should handle your home and your money if you cannot, and who should receive them.

YOUR HOME IN ORANGE COUNTY

What happens with your Fullerton home

The deed that funds your trust

Fullerton is in Orange County, so the deed that moves your home into your trust goes on record with the Orange County Clerk-Recorder. I prepare that deed with your other documents, with your names written exactly as they appear on your current deed. Read why names must match on your deed.

No reassessment and no transfer tax

Moving your home into your own revocable trust is not a change in ownership, so the Orange County Assessor does not reassess it (Rev. & Tax. Code § 62(d)). Orange County also exempts a transfer into a trust for the same owner from its documentary transfer tax, which on a sale is $0.55 for each $500 of value. Read about transferring real estate to your trust.

After a death in the family

When an owner of Orange County property dies and the home is held in a trust, the trustee files a Change in Ownership Statement (BOE-502-D) with the county within 150 days after the death (Rev. & Tax. Code § 480). Your successor trustee does not need a court order to act. Read what happens when a property owner dies.

Passing your home to your children

Under Proposition 19, a child keeps your assessed value only if the home becomes the child's principal residence, and the benefit is capped at your assessed value plus $1,044,586 for transfers from February 16, 2025 through February 15, 2027. Above that, the home is partly reassessed. Your trust can be written with that in mind.

PROBATE IN ORANGE COUNTY

What probate would cost on a Fullerton home

If your home passes by will or without a plan, it generally goes through probate in the Superior Court of California, County of Orange. California sets the attorney and personal representative fees by statute, based on the gross value of the estate, not your equity (Prob. Code §§ 10800, 10810). On a home valued at $1 million, those fees total $46,000 before court costs, even with a mortgage. A funded living trust keeps your home out of that process. I do not handle probate cases; I refer probate matters to other counsel. Read how probate works in California and what probate costs.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Common questions

Can I name a guardian for my young children?

Yes. Your will is where you nominate a guardian for minor children. Your trust can then hold what they inherit and release it at the ages you choose, instead of handing everything over at 18.

One of us has children from an earlier marriage. What changes?

A blended family needs a plan that says exactly what happens after the first spouse dies. A trust can provide for the surviving spouse for life and still protect what eventually passes to each side’s children.