Many people who create trusts leave them unfunded. We review your existing trust, verify funding, and fix what's missing through an affordable service and free consultation.
When you bought a trust from LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, or a similar service, you got a document. That document only works if your assets — especially your home — are legally transferred into the trust.
Most providers stop at the document. The deed preparation, the asset retitling, the funding verification — none of that happens. You leave thinking you're protected. You're not.
This isn't a minor technicality. An unfunded trust does nothing to avoid probate. Your family goes through probate anyway, paying substantial probate fees–substantial probate fees in court and attorney fees on a typical San Diego home.
The good news: if you catch it now, an affordable funding review can address the problem. If your family catches it after you're gone, it may face substantial probate exposure and court administration.
California's statutory probate fees on a higher-value home can be substantial because attorney and executor fees are both addressed by the statutory scheme. Avoiding probate is why you got a trust in the first place.
One value. No surprises. We review what you have, identify what's missing, and fix it.
We've reviewed hundreds of trusts across San Diego since 1992. Most have the same issue: the documents look fine, but the home was never deeded into the trust. Sometimes bank accounts weren't retitled. Sometimes the trust was amended and the old deed no longer applies.
Trust Rescue covers the full review. We read your existing trust documents, verify whether your real property has been transferred in, identify any assets that need retitling, and prepare a corrected deed if required. Then, 30 days later, we follow up to make sure nothing slipped through.
If your trust is already fully funded, we tell you that — and you have documented proof it's airtight. Either way, you leave with certainty instead of hope.
Typically 5–7 business days from when we receive your trust documents. If a deed correction is needed, we handle that within the same timeline. No scheduling delays, no back-and-forth billing.
You don't have to know whether your trust is funded. That's exactly what we check.
Online platforms prepare the document. None of them deed your home into the trust or verify that assets were transferred. That's the step that's almost always missing.
DIY templates and legal document assistants can produce a technically valid trust. But they can't provide legal guidance on funding — and they usually don't.
A trust only covers property that's inside it at the time it's funded. A home purchased after trust creation is often left out — even if you went through an attorney.
Tax laws change. Marital status changes. Property is sold and acquired. A trust that was correctly funded when created may have gaps today.
Even attorney-drafted trusts are unfunded 80–90% of the time. Attorneys prepare the document; the follow-up funding step often falls through the cracks.
Not knowing is exactly the right reason to get a review. An affordable funding review through a free consultation can clarify what is complete and what still needs attention.
Send us your trust documents. We'll tell you exactly what's funded, what's missing, and fix it — all for a flthrough an affordable service.
Get My Trust Reviewed →1–3 day turnaround • Flthrough an affordable service, nothing extra • Serving San Diego since 1992
For real property (your home), you can check the San Diego County Recorder's Office for your property's deed. If the deed reads in your name personally — rather than "[Your Name], Trustee of the [Your Name] Living Trust" — your home is not in the trust. For bank accounts and investments, the account title or beneficiary designation would need to show the trust as owner or beneficiary. Most people don't know how to check, which is exactly why Trust Rescue exists. We do the verification for you and document everything.
An unfunded trust is essentially a legal document with no assets in it. When you pass away, any property that isn't inside the trust must go through probate — the expensive court process that trusts are designed to avoid. In California, probate fees are set by statute and calculated as a percentage of estate value. For a San Diego home worth varies by complexity, attorney and executor fees alone can exceed substantial probate fees. That's why funding matters: without it, the trust doesn't protect anything. We prepare the corrected deed and funding checklist so nothing is left out.
Typically 5–7 business days from when we receive your existing trust documents. If deed preparation is required, it's included within the same window — no additional scheduling or separate billing. We confirm completion in writing, and then follow up with a 30-day call to make sure everything has been properly recorded and nothing was missed.
Yes. Attorney-drafted trusts have excellent documents — but attorneys typically hand you the signed documents and leave the funding step to you. Funding means physically transferring your assets into the trust: recording a new deed, retitling accounts, updating beneficiary designations. Without explicit follow-up, 80–90% of attorney-prepared trusts remain partially or fully unfunded. If your attorney didn't confirm funding in writing, it's worth verifying.
We'll document our findings in writing so you know what is complete and what still needs attention. Some clients come in expecting the worst and leave with confirmation that everything is correct. That's a good outcome. Service scope is reviewed during a free consultation.
Trust Rescue is designed for trusts with California-sited real property, since deed preparation is governed by California law. If you have property in San Diego County and a trust established in another state, contact us — we can review whether the trust structure is compatible with California recording requirements and what may need to be updated.
Trust Rescue focuses specifically on verifying and completing the funding of your existing trust. If you need to amend the trust itself — changing trustees, beneficiaries, or provisions — that's a separate service. When you complete our intake form, indicate what you're looking to accomplish and we'll route you to the right service. If you only need a review and funding verification, Trust Rescue is the right fit.
Download our California Living Trust Funding Checklist — asset-by-asset instructions with California-specific requirements for real estate, bank accounts, vehicles, and more.