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Revocable Living Trusts & Wills in Long Beach, California
Your estate plan should reflect the life you've built—and continue to evolve as your life changes.
A revocable living trust is a legal container you put your home and accounts into. You stay in full control while you're alive. When you die, the person you chose hands everything to your family privately, with no court and no probate. A will names who raises your children and catches anything left outside the trust. In California, most families need both, working together as one plan.
At Lungu Law Group, we design trusts and wills for Long Beach, Santa Monica, and Southern California families, business owners, and first responders, and we stay with you to make sure the plan actually works when it's needed.
Is a living trust right for you?
You are likely a good candidate for a revocable living trust if any of these describe you.
If your situation seems "simple," it's still worth a conversation. We regularly meet families who assumed a will was enough, only to learn their home alone would send them through probate.
Trust vs will in California: what's the difference?
Many people use the words interchangeably, but a will and a trust do very different jobs
A will
A will takes effect only after you die. It names an executor, names guardians for minor children, and says who receives your property. But in California, a will does not avoid probate. If your estate is over the small-estate limit, or includes real estate above the streamlined threshold, your will has to be proven and administered through the probate court before anything is distributed.
A trust
A revocable living trust takes effect the moment you sign it and "fund" it. Funding just means putting your house and accounts in the trust's name. A trust that owns nothing protects nothing. You remain in full control as trustee while you're alive and well. If you become incapacitated, your chosen successor trustee steps in without a court order. When you pass away, your successor trustee distributes your assets privately, according to your instructions, with no probate.
Why we recommend both: think of the trust as the plan and the will as the safety net.
Even with a trust, you still need a will. We prepare a "pour-over" will that names guardians for your children and directs any asset accidentally left outside your trust back into it. Think of the trust as the plan and the will as the safety net.
What's included in your trust-based estate plan
Every plan is designed around your family, but a complete trust-based plan from Lungu Law Group typically includes:
Why probate is worth avoiding in California
How long it takes
9-18 Months
Sometimes longer. During that time your family may not be able to sell, refinance, or fully manage the property in the estate. Every filing becomes a public record.
what it costs
~ $23,000
Attorney fees on a $1 million estate set by state law on the gross value, not the equity: 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9 million. The executor is entitled to the same fee again, plus court costs.
small-estate shortcuts
$208,850
The affidavit limit for personal property (deaths on or after April 1, 2025). A streamlined court petition exists for a primary residence valued at $750,000 or less. Most Long Beach homeowners exceed both.
A properly funded revocable living trust avoids this process entirely. Your successor trustee can act within days, privately, and at a fraction of the cost.
Frequently asked questions
In most cases, yes. If your home is worth more than $750,000, it cannot use California's streamlined procedures and will go through full probate without a trust. Even below that amount, a court petition is still required, and it's public. A trust lets your family take over privately and without a judge.
A revocable living trust by itself does not reduce federal estate tax. Most California families are well under the federal exemption, so property tax is usually the bigger concern. Under Proposition 19, a home passed to your children is reassessed at market value unless a child moves in and claims it as their primary residence within a year, and even then the exclusion is capped. We explain what is and isn't fixable in your situation and make sure the deadlines are built into your plan.
Yes. Instead of handing a child their inheritance outright, your trust can hold it in a protected trust for them, so it stays theirs if they divorce, get sued, or run into debt. We build this in when it fits your family.
Yes. A revocable living trust can be amended or revoked at any time while you have capacity. That's why we recommend a review every three years and after any major life change: marriage, divorce, a new child, a new home, a business, or a move.
An unfunded trust doesn't control anything. Assets left outside the trust may still have to go through probate, sometimes through a court petition to get them back into the trust. This is the most common way we see estate plans fail, and it's why asset coordination is part of our process, not an afterthought.
Most plans are signed within a few weeks of the Planning Session, depending on your schedule and the complexity of your assets. We work at the pace that's right for you.
Ready to protect your home, your children, and your privacy?
Start with a free 15-minute phone consult or schedule your Planning Session online.