Assets held in your living trust at your death can be managed by the trustee of your living trust and distributed in accordance with your directions in the trust. The trustee is also accountable to your beneficiaries for the trust assets held for their benefit after your death. The trust is not under the direct management of the probate court at and after your death and, therefore, the value and the nature of your assets and the identities of you beneficiaries do not become public record. At your death, however, notice must be given to all of your heirs and to all beneficiaries of your living trust, advising them, among other things, of their right to obtain a copy of the living trust.

If your assets were in your name alone at your death, then they would be subject to probate. Probate is the court-supervised process developed under California law which has as its goal the transfer of your assets at your death to your beneficiaries set forth in your will, and in the manner prescribed by your will. At your death, a petition is filed with the court, usually by the person or institution named in your will as executor. After notice is given and a hearing is held, your will is admitted to probate and an executor is appointed. A full inventory of the assets held in your name alone at your death is filed with the court and the probate continues until your estate is ready for distribution and the court approves the final distribution of your estate. Probate can take more time to complete than the distribution of your trust following your death. Assets held in a living trust can be more readily accessible to beneficiaries than those in a probate. The cost of a probate is often greater than the cost incurred by a comparable estate managed and distributed under a living trust.