Living Trust Privacy: Keep Your Estate Details Confidential

Why Privacy Matters in Estate Planning

Many California families are surprised to learn that a will becomes a public record once it’s filed for probate. A revocable living trust, on the other hand, is a private contract—its terms stay between you, your successor trustee, and your beneficiaries. That privacy can prevent nosey neighbors, predators, and even marketers from digging into your personal and financial details.

How a Living Trust Protects Your Privacy

A trust is essentially a contract you make with yourself while alive: you (the “grantor”) name yourself as trustee, spell out how your assets should be managed during life, and choose who takes over when you’re gone. Because trusts aren’t usually filed with any court or government agency, the contents—asset lists, family details, and distribution instructions—remain off-limits to the public. In Orange County, that discretion can make a big difference for families who value confidentiality.

Funding the Trust: The Step You Can’t Skip

A trust only safeguards what’s placed inside it. Effective funding means:

• Retitling real estate into the trust

• Updating bank and brokerage accounts

• Assigning membership interests in any closely held business

• Naming the trust as beneficiary where appropriate

Once funded, those assets bypass probate entirely, saving months of delay and, in California, tens of thousands of dollars in statutory probate fees.

Trust vs. Will in Plain English

• Privacy: A will becomes part of the public record during probate, while a living trust stays private.

• Court Oversight: A will requires full probate; a funded trust can be settled with minimal court involvement.

• Cost: Probate fees on a median-priced California home often exceed $55,000; a properly funded trust typically costs a fraction of that to administer.

• Timeline: Probate can stretch 9–18 months or more; a trust allows your successor trustee to distribute assets in weeks once debts are settled.

Even if your estate is modest today, rising property values can easily push an estate above the $185,000 probate threshold. Creating and funding a living trust now keeps tomorrow’s larger estate private and probate-free.

Ready to Start Your Estate Plan?

Book a free, no-obligation strategy session today → https://calendly.com/mpevney/strategysession