Glossary
Trust
A trust is a legal arrangement in which one party (the trustee) holds and manages assets for the benefit of others (the beneficiaries), under written instructions from the person who created it.
The revocable living trust is the workhorse of estate planning: the creator typically serves as their own trustee while alive, retains full control, and names a successor to manage or distribute assets at incapacity or death — outside of probate. Irrevocable trusts trade control for potential tax, creditor, or benefit-planning advantages. A trust only governs assets actually retitled into it.
Why it matters in practice
Trusts let instructions be enforced after death or incapacity — staggering an heir's inheritance, providing for a blended family, protecting a special-needs beneficiary — where a will alone cannot. Naming a trust as a retirement account beneficiary has tax consequences that deserve professional care.
In California
Probate in California is unusually slow and expensive — statutory fees are set as a percentage of the gross estate, and a home's value alone can push an estate past the small-estate threshold — which is why living trusts are near-standard advice for California homeowners. Community property rules also shape how spouses title trust assets.
Related terms: Beneficiary · Custodian · Fiduciary · IRA (Individual Retirement Account)