Are you looking for a trust lawyer in Los Angeles, CA?
At The Werner Law Firm, PC, we are trust lawyers with five decades of experience guiding California families through complex matters.
If you want to protect your assets, provide for your family, and keep your estate out of probate, a trust can do all three. Our Los Angeles, CA trust lawyer can recommend the right kind of trust and prepare it with care. The Werner Law Firm, PC has drafted trusts for California families since 1975, and our founder brings fifty years of practice to this work. Your first consultation is free, and it comes with no obligation.
A trust is a legal arrangement in which one person, the trustee, holds and manages property for the benefit of another. You decide what goes into the trust, who benefits from it, and the rules the trustee must follow. Trusts are a central tool in estate planning because they can pass property outside of probate, protect assets, and provide for people over time.
There is no single kind of trust. The right one depends on your goals, whether that means avoiding probate, planning for a child, protecting assets, or reducing certain taxes. A trust attorney in Los Angeles can explain the options in plain terms and match a structure to your situation, rather than leaving you to sort through the choices on your own. Trusts are also more flexible than many people expect. The same tool that helps a young family avoid probate can, in another form, provide for a relative with a disability or hold a business interest for the next generation.
Trusts come in many forms, and each serves a different purpose. These are the types our Los Angeles attorneys work with most often.
Living trusts. The most common trust for California families. A living trust holds your assets during your life and passes them to your beneficiaries without probate.
Revocable trusts. A revocable trust can be changed or canceled while you are alive. Most living trusts are revocable, which keeps you in full control of your property.
Irrevocable trusts. An irrevocable trust gives up some control in exchange for asset protection or tax planning. Whether a trust should be revocable or irrevocable depends on what you want it to do.
Special needs trusts. These provide for a beneficiary with a disability without putting their public benefits at risk.
Testamentary trusts. A testamentary trust is created through a will and takes effect after death, often to hold property for minor children until they are older.
Asset protection trusts. An asset protection trust is built to shield certain assets from future claims. These are specialized and fit particular circumstances.
Trust administration. After a death, the successor trustee must follow the trust administration process, and we guide trustees through their duties step by step. The role carries real deadlines, and missteps can create personal liability for the trustee.
The value of a trust lies in the details. We prepare each one so it does what you intend, both while you are here and after you are gone.
The Werner Law Firm, PC has drafted and administered trusts for California families since 1975. Our founder, L. Rob Werner, has practiced for fifty years and holds a Readers' Choice Award for Best Attorney from the Los Angeles Daily News, along with membership in the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Our managing attorney, Troy Werner, earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his law degree from Southwestern Law School, and is admitted in California and Texas with 17 years of practice. As a trust lawyer in Los Angeles, CA, our firm can match the right trust to your circumstances. Clients who want a complete plan can also work with an estate planning lawyer in Los Angeles, CA at our office.
Much of our work comes from clients we have served before and the people they send our way. Every trust begins with a free consultation and a clear explanation of what it will accomplish. Our goal is a trust you fully understand and can rely on, drafted to do exactly what you intend for your family.
A trust can seem complicated from the outside, but the structure is logical once you see how the pieces fit. Trusts have a reputation for being reserved for the wealthy, and that reputation is outdated. Middle-class families use them every day to spare their heirs the cost and delay of probate. Knowing the parts helps you decide what kind of trust, if any, belongs in your plan.
Every trust has three roles, and understanding them makes the rest easier.
The grantor, sometimes called the settlor or trustor, creates the trust and places assets into it.
The trustee manages the trust and carries out its terms.
The beneficiary receives the benefit of the trust's assets.
One person can hold more than one role. In a typical living trust, you are the grantor, the trustee, and the beneficiary while you are alive, with a successor trustee ready to step in later. That flexibility is part of what makes trusts so useful, because adjusting who holds each role, and when, lets a single tool serve very different goals from one family to the next. The difference between a trustor and trustee is a common source of confusion, and we take the time to make it clear.
A trust only works if it is set up and maintained properly. The document itself is only the beginning, and what happens after signing often matters as much as the drafting. A few things determine whether it does its job.
Funding the trust, which means transferring assets into it. An unfunded trust cannot protect what it does not hold, so funding the trust is essential.
Choosing a trustee who is both capable and trustworthy.
Keeping the trust updated as your family and assets change.
Coordinating the trust with your will, beneficiary designations, and the rest of your plan.
Many families use a trust specifically to keep their estate out of court. A properly funded trust can help your family avoid probate, which saves both time and expense.
Creating a trust usually takes a few weeks, though funding it can continue afterward.
A consultation to review your assets, your family, and your goals.
A recommendation on the type of trust that fits your situation.
Drafting of the trust and any supporting documents, such as a will.
A signing appointment where the documents are notarized.
Funding the trust by transferring your assets into it.
Simple trusts move quickly. More complex estates, or those with business interests and property in more than one state, take longer. We also make sure you understand how to keep the trust working after it is signed, since a trust is not a document you file away and forget.
A little preparation helps us give you useful guidance from the first meeting.
A list of your assets, including real estate, financial accounts, and business interests.
Any existing will, trust, or power of attorney you have already signed.
The names of the people you want as beneficiaries and as trustee.
You don't need everything in hand to start. We can begin with what you have and identify what is missing as we go. A first consultation is usually enough to clarify whether a trust belongs in your plan and which kind fits.
Trusts are governed by California law and, in some cases, by federal tax rules. These public resources can help you understand the basics before or after you meet with an attorney.
The California Courts self-help guide on wills and estates introduces trusts and how they relate to probate.
The same guide offers sample legal documents you can review.
The full California Probate Code is published by the state for those who want the statutes themselves.
The IRS explains how trusts are taxed and which returns a trust may need to file.
These resources offer general information, not advice about your own trust and family.
A trust can protect what you have built and make things easier for the people you leave behind. We would be glad to explain which kind of trust fits your goals and answer whatever questions come up. Your first consultation is free, with no pressure to decide right away. Contact us to get started.
Los Angeles is a city of renters as much as a city of homeowners. Only about a third of households own the home they live in. Those that do own something worth close to a million dollars, which is usually enough to make a trust the cleanest way to pass it on. The city's large foreign-born population raises a second set of questions. Providing for a spouse who is not a U.S. citizen works differently, and it comes up here far more than it does elsewhere in the state.
There's also the court system to consider. Los Angeles County runs the largest trial court in the state by a wide margin, and probate is one of its slower calendars. Two of the figures below are Census estimates. The third comes from the state's annual court caseload report.
The median owner-occupied home in Los Angeles is worth $921,200, according to Census QuickFacts.
Foreign-born residents make up 35.7 percent of the city's population in the same Census figures, roughly one in three Angelenos.
Probate filings rose more than 7 percent in fiscal year 2024-25, one of the sharpest increases of any case type, per page 3 of the Judicial Council's 2026 Court Statistics Report.
Most people meet with one attorney, hear a number, and sign. A better approach is to ask a handful of questions that tell you how the work will actually be done. Any trust attorney in Los Angeles should be able to answer these without hesitating.
Which kind of trust are you recommending, and why that one? There are many types of trusts, and the honest answer sometimes is that you don't need one. Be wary of a recommendation that arrives before anyone has asked what you own.
Will you handle the funding, or is that left to me? This is the question that separates a real plan from a stack of paper. Ask who prepares and records the deed. Ask who contacts your banks.
What happens to my trust if I move or buy property in another state? Out-of-state real estate can trigger a second probate. A trust lawyer should raise this before you do.
Who will actually draft my documents? Some offices hand drafting to a paralegal and never revisit it. Ask which attorney reviews the final language and whether you'll meet that person.
How do you advise my successor trustee after I'm gone? The trustee's role carries deadlines, notices, and accountings. Ask whether the office helps trustees or only drafts documents.
What could go wrong with this plan? A candid answer beats a confident one. Breach of fiduciary duty claims and beneficiary disputes usually trace back to something nobody flagged at the drafting stage.
How will the trust be taxed? Ask how trusts are taxed during your life and after your death. Ask which returns your trustee will have to file.
What does the fee cover, and what falls outside it? Get clear on whether amendments, deed preparation, and later questions are included or billed separately.
It depends on the structure and how much property has to move into it. A single revocable trust for one home is a different job from a plan with rental property, a business interest, and a beneficiary who receives public benefits. We give you a flat quote once we know the scope. Nothing is billed before you agree to it.
Yes. Every trust matter at The Werner Law Firm, PC starts with a free consultation, and you're under no obligation afterward. Use it to ask questions and hear what we would recommend. Then take as long as you need to decide.
We do. Our staff handles trust matters in English and Spanish, which matters in a city where more than half of residents speak a language other than English at home. Estate planning involves decisions that are hard enough in a first language.
It can. The unlimited marital deduction that applies between citizen spouses works differently when one spouse is not a citizen. A qualified domestic trust is one structure that addresses this. It's worth raising early rather than after documents are drafted.
A revocable trust can. Small updates take an amendment and larger revisions call for a restatement. An irrevocable trust is harder, though an irrevocable trust can sometimes be modified through specific procedures. We'll tell you which category yours falls into.
More than most people expect. There are notices to beneficiaries, an inventory of assets, tax filings, and eventually distributions. The guidelines for trustees run to a real checklist. We walk trustees through it rather than handing them the document and wishing them luck.
They can, and in Los Angeles they sometimes do. Disagreements over accountings, distributions, or a trustee's decisions can escalate quickly. There are ways to resolve disputes short of litigation, and clear drafting prevents many of them from starting.
Yes. A pour-over will catches whatever never made it into the trust, and it's the only document that can name a guardian for minor children. Our Los Angeles wills lawyer prepares it alongside the trust.
A revocable trust does not, because you keep the power to revoke it. Certain irrevocable structures can, within limits and with real trade-offs. We'll say plainly when a revocable trust won't accomplish what you're hoping for.
Real estate in another state can require a separate probate there. Holding it in a trust generally avoids that. Bring the details of any out-of-state property to the first meeting, since it often shapes the recommendation.
A few Los Angeles institutions come up often when families are creating a trust or carrying one out. Each is listed with a direct number.
LA Law Library: (213) 785-2529, at 301 West First Street, is the second-largest public law library in the country. It's open to anyone and sits directly across from the courthouse where probate matters are heard.
Los Angeles Department of Aging: (213) 482-7252, is the City's own agency for residents over 60. It handles caregiver support and referrals through senior centers across Los Angeles.
Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk: (800) 201-8999. Every deed moving Los Angeles property into a trust is recorded here. Trustees also come here for certified copies of a death certificate.
We list these as a convenience. The Werner Law Firm, PC is not affiliated with any of them and does not vouch for their services.
A trust exists partly to keep your family away from this building. Probate matters for most Los Angeles residents are heard by the Superior Court's Probate Division at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 North Hill Street, reachable at (213) 830-0800.
Trust administration is different. A funded trust is settled privately by the successor trustee, with no filing and no hearing. Court involvement usually only happens when something goes wrong, such as a dispute among beneficiaries or an asset that was never transferred. When a matter does have to be filed, the court's probate notes are posted before each hearing and flag defects in a petition.
We've served California families since 1975 and now work from ten offices around the state, including our Los Angeles office. Our founder L. Rob Werner built the practice in Los Angeles, and also served as founding president of the Santa Clarita Valley Bar Association.
Trust work is most of what we do. That includes drafting, funding, and the administration that follows a death, along with related matters like a special needs trust for a beneficiary on public benefits or a living trust built to avoid probate. We offer services in English and Spanish.
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"Troy Werner and his legal team are exceptional! I've received help from Troy on two different matters. He helped me administer a trust when I became a trustee, and I would have floundered without his guidance. My husband and I also had Troy help with our estate planning, and we are so thankful for the great counsel, attention to detail and responsiveness to all of our questions. We cannot recommend him enough." — Sarah McKendricks
Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.
A trust is worth having only if it holds your property and someone knows what to do with it later. Our trust lawyers in Los Angeles, CA will look at what you own and recommend a structure that fits. If a simpler plan would serve you better, we'll say so. The first consultation costs nothing and you are under no commitment to continue. You'll leave it with a clear quote and an honest answer about what the work involves. Contact us to set up a time.
The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship! See full disclaimer here.
