Get the court order that puts the house in the trust — without the lawyer, and without a full probate.
A Heggstad petition (Prob. Code §850) asks the court to confirm the house belonged to the trust. You are the petitioner; a registered California Legal Document Assistant prepares, files, and serves your papers at your direction, through the recorded order.
Talk to a registered LDA free — or check it yourself and pay only when you file.
The trust says it owns the house. The deed says otherwise.
- A refinance took the house out of the trust.
- The house was bought after the trust was signed.
- The deed was never recorded to the trust.
- The trust’s schedule of assets lists the house, but the deed is still in their name.
- An account or investment was never retitled into the trust.
If one of these sounds familiar, this is what a Heggstad petition fixes.
From documents to a recorded order.
Every step happens in your ProbateClear dashboard.
Answer plain questions. We fill in the details.
No legal forms to decipher, and nothing to pay until you file.
- Answer plain-English questions from your phone or computer
- Upload the trust, deed, and death certificate — we read them and fill in the details
- We tell you if anything is missing
Illustration — sample case, not a real client’s file.
Your petition matches the public record.
A description that matches the record is one less reason for papers to come back from the court or the recorder.
- Your LDA pulls the recorded deeds and county parcel records — including any lot split
- The property description in your petition is matched to the public record
Illustration — sample case, not a real client’s file.
Every document, prepared and checked.
A court-ready filing, prepared by someone who does this every day.
- A complete §850 petition, with the proposed order and every exhibit attached
- Your declaration: the facts you give us, typed at your direction and organized with the exhibits
- The whole filing package is checked before it goes to court
- Revisions included — as many as you need
Illustration — sample case, not a real client’s file.
Nothing is filed until you approve it.
You stay in control, without printing, scanning, or mailing.
- Preview every document in your dashboard
- Sign online — nothing is filed until you approve it
Illustration — sample case, not a real client’s file.
Filed for you, and tracked live.
No trips to the clerk’s office, and no calling to ask where things stand.
- Your LDA e-files everything with the court
- Your filing and hearing date appear live in your dashboard
Illustration — sample case, not a real client’s file.
Everyone the law requires gets notice.
The court must be satisfied that notice was properly given before it can grant your petition (Prob. Code §1260). Notice problems can push the hearing back, so we serve it the way the law requires.
- Notice of hearing and a copy of the petition, served on everyone the law requires, in the way the law requires
- At least 30 days before the hearing
- See who was served, and when
Illustration — sample case, not a real client’s file.
Ready for your day in court.
You walk in knowing what to expect.
- You appear as the petitioner — beforehand, we walk you through courtroom procedure
- The law requires at least 30 days’ notice, so the hearing is at least a month after filing — often longer, depending on your court’s calendar
- If the court posts notes, we prepare the corrected papers you direct
- In much of Northern California your LDA can sit with you at the hearing; elsewhere, we help you set up a remote appearance where your court allows one
Illustration — sample case, not a real client’s file.
The house is on record as trust property.
Once the order is recorded, you can sell, refinance, or distribute the house.
- The signed order is recorded with the county recorder, together with the Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR)
- We prepare the assessor filings that follow a death: the Change in Ownership Statement (BOE-502-D), and, if you choose to claim one, a parent-child exclusion claim (BOE-19-P)
- Download the signed, recorded order from your dashboard
Illustration — sample case, not a real client’s file.
Message your LDA any time along the way — every step, document, and update lives in one place.
A real California LDA behind every filing.
I became a founding partner because ProbateClear does the heavy document lifting — so I can focus on what families need most from me: careful review and a steady hand through the process.
Probate paperwork rewards structure: the right documents, prepared correctly, filed on time. That's the discipline I built over a career in IT and project management — now in service of families.
After years inside law firms, I watched families pay full attorney rates for paperwork that never needed one. For a straightforward estate, that money should stay with the family — and that's what I get to protect here.
Talk to us free — you’re never billed for a call, a meeting, or a question — and message your LDA any time.
One flat fee. Every step above included.
- Many law firms bill by the hour
- Calls and emails often billed
- Final cost unknown until the end
- Title records, petition, declaration, notice
- E-filing, hearing prep, recorded order
- Revisions and messages included
$1,400 flat for our document service. The court’s filing fee ($435 in most counties) is paid to the court separately. You may qualify for a fee waiver.
Talk to a registered LDA free — or check it yourself and pay only when you file.
When a §850 petition is not the answer.
These petitions turn on a signed writing, not on what everyone remembers the person intending. If the paperwork isn’t there, the petition is a hard one, and we will say so before you pay for it.
- A beneficiary is contesting the trust or the asset
- The asset was signed into a different (earlier) trust
- The trust paperwork does not describe the asset at all
- Out-of-state real property is involved
What people ask us first.
Talk to an LDA about your house today.
Tell us what happened, and we’ll walk you through how the process works and what it costs.
Talk to a registered LDA free — or check it yourself and pay only when you file.