For some families, genuinely no. AB 2016 took effect April 1, 2025, and it lets a decedent's primary residence worth up to $750,000 go through a simplified court procedure instead of full probate. That is a real change and any firm that pretends otherwise is selling on fear.
But $750,000 does not buy a house in most of Los Angeles County, and the exclusion is narrower than the headline suggests.
What the new law actually covers
One thing. The decedent's primary residence, valued at $750,000 or less. It is a simplified court petition, not an automatic transfer, and it applies to that home specifically.
Everything else still runs on the old machinery. Non-residence assets use the small estate affidavit, with a threshold of $184,500 that adjusts for inflation. Cross either line and you are back in full probate with statutory fees.
Who is still exposed
- Anyone whose home is worth more than $750,000, which in most of this county is most homeowners.
- Anyone who owns real property that is not their primary residence. A rental in Long Beach, a condo in Palm Springs, a share of a family cabin. None of it qualifies.
- Anyone with non-real-estate assets above $184,500, counted before the mortgage, not after.
- Anyone with out-of-state property, which triggers a separate probate in that state regardless of what California does.
Gross, not equity
Valuation for probate purposes runs on gross value before any mortgage is subtracted. A house worth $1.1 million with $800,000 owed on it is a $1.1 million probate, not a $300,000 one. The new $750,000 threshold does not change that arithmetic.
The honest arithmetic
If your home is worth $700,000 and your other assets total under $184,500, the simplified route probably handles it and a trust package is not obviously worth $2,900 to you. I will say so in the consultation.
If your home is worth $1.2 million, statutory fees on that estate run about $23,000 to the attorney and $23,000 to the executor. Roughly $46,000, against a $2,900 flat fee. Even accounting for a family executor waiving their share, the math is not close.
| Situation | Simplified procedure? | Trust worth it? |
|---|---|---|
| Home $700k, savings $60k | Likely yes | Probably not, and I'll tell you that |
| Home $1.2M, no other real property | No | Yes, clearly |
| Home $600k plus a rental duplex | Not for the rental | Yes |
| Renter, $300k in a 401(k) with beneficiaries | Not needed | No, a $1,200 will is fine |
“A woman came in last spring with a paid-off house in a part of the Valley where prices have not run up much. Her estate qualified. I charged her nothing, told her to update her beneficiary forms, and she left in twenty minutes. That happens more often since AB 2016 than it used to.”
Delia Vasquez-HartWhat a trust still does that the simplified route does not
It handles incapacity while you are alive, which no post-death procedure addresses. It stays private, where court filings are public. It controls timing for young beneficiaries. And it avoids the delay, since even a simplified petition means a filing, notice, and a hearing date on a crowded Los Angeles calendar.
Questions we get asked
Does the $750,000 figure adjust over time?
Thresholds in this area are periodically adjusted, and the small estate affidavit figure is inflation-adjusted by design. Check the current numbers rather than relying on any page, including this one, years from now.
Does it apply if the house is worth $760,000?
No. It is a ceiling, not a deduction. Slightly over means the whole property falls outside the simplified procedure.
Is the simplified procedure free?
No. It is a court petition with filing fees, notice requirements, and usually an attorney. Cheaper and faster than full probate, not costless.
I already have a trust and my house is under $750,000. Was it a waste?
Not really. You still get the incapacity protection, the privacy, and no hearing at all. Whether you would buy it again at today's thresholds is a fair question.
Bring your most recent property tax bill and a rough number for your other assets to the free 45-minute consultation. In most cases I can tell you inside fifteen minutes which side of these thresholds you fall on, and if you are safely under them, you will not get a sales pitch.