What Is a Heggstad Petition When a House Was Left Out of the Trust?

It happens more often than families expect. A parent signs a living trust, then never records a new deed putting the house in the trust's name. Sometimes the house was bought after the trust was made, or refinanced and taken out of the trust, and never put back.

I'm Jeanette Nelson, a REALTOR® with Jeanette Nelson Real Estate, Keller Williams Realty, serving Orange County, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, and surrounding areas. I help families with trust sales and probate sales. This is general information, not legal advice. A trust and estate attorney is the right person to decide which path fits your family.

California Courts self-help explains that assets in a living trust should go to the beneficiaries without having to go to probate court. The trust only controls what was actually put into it.

When the house is still in your parent's individual name, the successor trustee may not be able to sell it as trustee. The title company needs a clear chain of ownership before it will insure a sale. Without a fix, the house may need to go through a court process.

The name comes from a California appeals court case, Estate of Heggstad, which recognized that a written declaration in the trust itself can be enough to place property in the trust. Today, attorneys use the term for a petition under Probate Code section 850.

Section 850 allows a trustee or any interested person to petition the court in several situations, including where the trustee has a claim to real or personal property that someone else holds title to. The petition must state the facts supporting the claim.

If the court finds the claim is supported, section 856 allows it to order the property conveyed or transferred to the person entitled to it, or to grant other relief.

Every case turns on its own documents, and your attorney will review yours. Families are often asked to find:

• The signed trust and any amendments
• Any schedule or list of assets attached to the trust, especially one that names the house
• The current deed and the deed history for the home
• Any letters or notes showing your parent meant the house to be in the trust

The clearer the trust's own words are about the house, the stronger the petition tends to be. Your attorney will also handle the required notice to interested people before the hearing.

Sometimes. California Courts self-help lists a simpler procedure for a decedent's main home in California worth up to $750,000, for deaths on or after April 1, 2025. Many Orange County homes are valued above that.

Other times, a full probate is the right path. Our guides on what happens to a parent's house when they pass away, how probate works for an inherited house and the difference between a trust sale and a probate sale can help you see the choices. Your attorney can compare them for your family.

If the court grants the petition, its order is typically recorded so the public record shows the house in the trust. From there, the successor trustee can usually move forward with the sale the way the trust allows. Our guide on what a successor trustee has to do walks through the next steps.

If your family has found that a loved one's house was left out of the trust, I'd welcome a private planning conversation about the house, the timing and what comes next, alongside your attorney's guidance. Call or text me at 714.366.8575 | DRE: 01397168, or contact me.