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Call (916) 436-3776Trust Administration California
How Do I Administer a Trust and Handle the Property in California?
As a successor trustee in California, you administer the trust without probate court: you notify beneficiaries and legal heirs (a formal notice is required within 60 days of the settlor's death), secure and value the assets, handle debts and taxes, and then distribute or sell as the trust directs. When the trust holds a home, you can sell it without court confirmation using a Certification of Trust, often capturing a stepped-up tax basis. Serve First can run a keep-vs-sell analysis, and Ashlar LDA can prepare documents at your direction.
If a loved one named you successor trustee of their living trust, you've been handed a real responsibility, often while grieving. The good news is that a trust avoids probate court, so administering it is more private and usually faster than a probate. But there are duties and deadlines: notifying beneficiaries, securing and valuing assets, handling debts and taxes, and eventually distributing or selling property. This guide explains the process at a high level and how it works when the trust holds a home, then links to a guide for your area. Serve First, Ashlar LDA, and Ashlar Lending can be practical resources along the way, on the property, the paperwork, and any beneficiary buyout.
One family. A resource for the trustee.
Support for administering the trust, and the property in it
Serving as a successor trustee is a real responsibility, often taken on while grieving. The Ashlar Brands family can lighten the load whether the trust is selling, buying, or distributing real estate:
- Serve First Realty works both sides of a trust’s real estate. Selling: a trust sale skips probate court, and we understand the Certification of Trust, disclosures, and keeping beneficiaries informed. Buying: some trusts are directed to acquire or replace property, and we can help you purchase in the name of the trust, or help a beneficiary buy a home with funds distributed from the trust. We can also run a clear keep-vs-sell analysis with real numbers.
- Ashlar LDA, Inc., a bonded and registered Legal Document Assistant, can prepare trust-administration documents at your direction, such as the beneficiary notice, a Certification of Trust, and property deeds.
- Ashlar Lending Inc. (NMLS #2699657) can finance a beneficiary buyout when one heir keeps the home, help a beneficiary buy with a trust distribution as their down payment (documenting the source of funds lenders require), and pre-qualify buyers so a sale closes cleanly.
These are separate businesses in the Ashlar Brands family. Serve First is a real estate brokerage, not a lender or law firm; loan terms are set by the lender. A Legal Document Assistant prepares documents at your direction and is not a substitute for an attorney.