Q: If a house is in a trust, does it have to go thru probate?

A: Depends.

If the house was in the decedent's name alone, or if it was held as tenants in common, then a probate will be required. (You can tell if it is tenants in common by looking at the deed. If the grantees are two people, and it states "as tenants in common" or does not state anything about the type of ownership, then it is most likely a tenancy in common.

But, if the property was owned by the decedent and someone else as "joint tenants" or "community property with right of survivorship" then probate is not required. (If it is just "community property" without stating right of survivor ship, there are probate alternatives available to transfer the proper to the surviving spouse.

Of course, just because probate is not required you may wish to elect to probate the estate anyway. Particularly if you wish to address creditor's claims or you think that there will be a contest of the form of title. (Probate provides a quicker avenue to resolve title issues than the general civil court.)

Finally, even if the property is in the decedent's name alone, probate may be avoided if the property is worth less than $150,000, and in certain other instances.

I would have a probate attorney take a look at the deed and tell you your options.

A: Generally, no. If the property is properly funded to the trust, the trustee would eventually make the distribution of the property to the named beneficiaries. In some cases, there may be issues with the title to the property. The grant deed from the settlor must name the trustee of the trust. If the property is in the name of the decedent, you may either require a probate or you can file a Petition under Probate Code Section 850, (Heggstad) to obtain a court order funding the property to the trust.