How to Avoid Probate in California: 5 Proven Strategies

Nobody wants their family to spend months (or years) in probate court. And in California—where real estate is valuable and probate timelines are long—it’s worth planning ahead.

Whether you're a homeowner or advising a loved one’s estate, these 5 legal strategies can help you avoid probate and protect your assets.

1. Create a Living Trust

A revocable living trust is the most powerful tool to avoid probate.

You transfer your home and other major assets into the trust while you're alive. When you pass, your successor trustee distributes everything privately, without court involvement.

It also:

• Speeds up inheritance

• Preserves privacy

• Avoids court fees and delays

✅ Great for: Real estate, large bank accounts, multiple heirs

2. Use a Transfer-on-Death (TOD) Deed for Real Estate

Also called a Revocable Transfer on Death Deed, this allows your property to transfer directly to your named beneficiary when you pass—bypassing probate entirely.

But there are rules:

• It must be properly filled out and recorded with the county before death

• It can be revoked or changed at any time

✅ Great for: Homeowners who want a simple alternative to a trust

3. Add Payable-on-Death (POD) or Beneficiary Designations

For bank accounts, retirement plans, and life insurance:

• Name a primary and contingent beneficiary

• These assets pass automatically upon death, outside probate

✅ Great for: Checking/savings accounts, IRAs, 401(k)s, life insurance

4. Hold Assets in Joint Tenancy or Community Property

Property held as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as community property with survivorship passes to the surviving spouse or co-owner without probate.

✅ Great for: Married couples and co-owned homes

5. Keep Your Estate Below the Probate Threshold

As of 2024, estates under $184,500 in gross value may qualify for a small estate affidavit, which avoids full probate.

✅ Great for: Seniors with minimal assets or simplified estates

⚠️ What Doesn’t Avoid Probate?

• Simply having a will — it still goes through probate

• Unrecorded TOD deeds

• Outdated or missing beneficiary designations

• Verbal promises (they hold no legal weight)

🧭 Let Us Help You Plan Ahead

At The Borges Real Estate Team, we’ve worked with families throughout Los Angeles and Orange County to avoid probate—or move through it as quickly and efficiently as possible.

We partner with trusted attorneys and estate planners, and we’re happy to guide you through the process.

📅 Schedule your free probate strategy call today—and learn how to protect your home and your heirs from the court system.