San Francisco, CA asked in Estate Planning for California

Q: May a property which passes by intestate succession pass to the deceased spouse's trust, trustee?

Decedent died intestate in 2010 holding real property, survived by Spouse who died in 2018. Spouse had established a revocable trust and named a successor trustee. May the trust/ successor trustee may now take title to the decedent's share of the real property?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Sally Bergman
Sally Bergman
Answered
  • Estate Planning Lawyer
  • San Mateo, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: If the spouse had retitled the property into the name of the spouse's revocable trust, the answer is a clear yes. If the spouse had not done so, it may still be possible to transfer the property into the trust, but you will need to file a court petition to accomplish that transfer. This would not be a do-it-yourself kind of project, but most attorneys who practice in this area of law are quite familiar with these petitions.

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