What happens to assets left out of my living trust?

Unfunded assets do not pass under the trust's terms. A pour-over will, valid under Probate Code section 6300, sweeps them into the trust, but through probate if they exceed the small-estate threshold. A petition under Probate Code section 850 can sometimes confirm omitted property to the trust without full administration.

A living trust controls only assets actually titled in it, so funding is where trust plans succeed or fail. Real estate must be deeded to the trustee and accounts retitled; property left in the settlor's individual name passes outside the trust. The safety net is the pour-over will, which leaves everything to the trust and is validated by Probate Code section 6300, but a pour-over will is still a will, so assets above the small-estate threshold of Probate Code section 13100 must pass through probate on their way in, with the cost and delay the trust was built to avoid. Courts offer a repair tool: a petition under Probate Code section 850, often called a Heggstad petition after Estate of Heggstad (1993) 16 Cal.App.4th 943, can confirm that omitted property belongs to the trust when the documents show that intent. Retirement accounts and life insurance pass by beneficiary designation regardless, so those forms need their own review.

Authority: Cal. Prob. Code § 850