A Heggstad Petition asks a California probate court to confirm that an asset legally belongs to a living trust, even though it was never formally retitled into the trust's name before the person died. It's the most common fix when a successor trustee discovers that a house, account, or other asset was left out of an otherwise properly funded trust.
The petition is named after Estate of Heggstad (1993) 16 Cal.App.4th 943, in which the California Court of Appeal upheld a probate court's ruling that an asset never formally transferred to a living trust still belonged to the trust, because the decedent had left written evidence of his intent to include it. That principle is now codified more broadly in California Probate Code §850, which lets a trustee or beneficiary petition the court to resolve exactly this kind of title problem.
The strength of a Heggstad Petition comes down to one thing: written evidence that the decedent intended the asset to be in the trust. The most common source is the Schedule of Trust Assets (often called Schedule A) — the document signed alongside the trust itself that lists the specific assets the person intended to fund it with. If the asset in question is listed there, or the schedule otherwise makes the intent clear, courts approve these petitions in most cases.
The key is written evidence of intent, and better if it's signed and dated. We have our clients sign and date their Schedule of Trust Assets.
But any writing, preferably signed and dated, that expresses the trust grantor's intent to transfer the asset should suffice.
Without that kind of written record, the case is much weaker. A court can still consider other evidence of intent, but the outcome becomes far less predictable, and the estate may end up needing formal probate for that asset after all.
A Heggstad Petition must be filed with the probate court in the county where the decedent lived. This isn't a form you fill out and mail in; you will likely need an attorney.
Interested parties (typically the beneficiaries) receive notice, and the matter is set for a hearing. If the judge is satisfied that the evidence of intent is clear, the court issues an order treating the asset as trust property from that point forward.
Most petitions take three to four months from filing to court order. That's slower and more expensive than if the asset had simply been titled correctly from the start, but it's still far faster and less costly than a full probate administration.
A Heggstad Petition is a repair tool, not a substitute for properly funding a trust in the first place. See How to Fund Your California Living Trust for what that actually involves — it's a lot easier to title an asset correctly while you're alive than to ask a judge to fix it after the fact.
It's also worth knowing this isn't the only path around probate for a left-out asset. If the amount involved is modest — personal property under California's small-estate threshold, currently $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025 (not adjusting again until April 1, 2028, per Judicial Council Form DE-300) — a successor trustee may be able to use a small estate affidavit instead of either a Heggstad Petition or full probate. Real property specifically has its own small-value threshold, currently $69,625, under a separate affidavit procedure. Larger accounts and real property above these amounts generally need either the trust itself, a Heggstad Petition, or formal probate.
A successor trustee is going through the decedent's mail and finds a savings account statement in the decedent's individual name — not the trust's. The trust's Schedule of Trust Assets, signed the same day as the trust, lists “all bank and brokerage accounts” among the assets the decedent intended to fund the trust with, and separately names that specific bank. That's a strong Heggstad case: there's a signed, dated document showing clear intent, even though the account itself was never retitled. The trustee's attorney files the petition, notice is sent, and — assuming no one objects — the court issues an order treating the account as trust property.
Yes. Beneficiaries or other interested parties can object at the hearing, typically by arguing that the evidence of intent isn't clear enough, or that the decedent changed their mind after signing the Schedule of Trust Assets. When the written evidence is strong and specific, objections like these usually don't succeed. When the evidence is thin or the schedule is vague (“all my other property,” for example, with nothing more specific), a contested hearing becomes far less predictable, and the cost and timeline both increase.
It's rare that a beneficiary would contest, because they usually have a vested interest in not taking the estate through probate. But sometimes a beneficiary may have a reason to contest, legitimate or not.
No. It's a narrower, faster court proceeding focused on a single question — does this asset belong in the trust — rather than a full administration of the estate. It's filed in probate court, but it isn't a substitute for probate on the rest of the estate if other assets genuinely require it.
No, but as a practical matter, yes. There's no simplified do-it-yourself version of this petition the way there is for a small estate affidavit.
A general statement of intent to transfer “all of my property” to the trust can sometimes be enough, but a specific listing makes the case considerably stronger. If there's no schedule at all, or nothing in writing suggesting intent, a Heggstad Petition is a much harder case, and the asset may need to go through the normal probate process instead.
Yes — in fact, real estate left out of a trust is one of the more common reasons this petition gets filed, since a home is often the asset with the most to lose in a full probate.
Discovering an unfunded asset is usually something a successor trustee runs into while marshaling assets, not something anyone plans for.
If you've found an asset that should have been in a trust but wasn't, the sooner you talk to an attorney, the more options you generally have.
Contact us to schedule an initial call with one of our attorneys.