What is a Heggstad petition?

A petition under Probate Code section 850 asking the court to declare that property is a trust asset even though title was never formally transferred into the trust. It takes its name from Estate of Heggstad, the 1993 California decision confirming that a settlor's expressed intent can establish trust ownership without a change of title.

Who can file a section 850 petition?

Section 850 allows the personal representative or any interested person to petition where a decedent was bound by a written contract to convey property, where the decedent died holding title to property claimed by another, or where the decedent had a claim to property held by someone else.

What evidence does a Heggstad petition need?

Evidence of the settlor's intent that the asset be held in trust. A schedule of trust assets listing the property is the strongest single document. A general assignment of assets to the trust, a signed but unrecorded deed, or contemporaneous correspondence can also support it.

How long does a Heggstad petition take?

Far less than probate. It is a single petition with a noticed hearing rather than a full administration, so it commonly resolves in a few months where nobody objects — against a year or more for the probate it replaces.

What if someone objects?

It becomes contested litigation. Section 855 allows claims normally raised in a civil action to be joined where they are factually related, so an objection about undue influence or capacity can be heard in the same proceeding.

The Heggstad Petition

A Heggstad petition asks a California court to confirm that an asset belongs to a trust even though the settlor never retitled it. It is brought under Probate Code section 850, and it is what keeps a forgotten house or account out of full probate administration.

A thick bound document open under a brass lamp, one page lifted to reveal an older yellowed page beneath a newer white sheet. — The trust was signed. The deed was never changed. That gap is what this petition closes.

The problem it solves

A living trust only controls what it actually holds. Signing the trust is one step; retitling the house, the brokerage account and the rental into the trust’s name is a second, and it is the one people skip. A refinance is a common culprit — the lender insists the property come out of the trust to close, and nobody puts it back. The result is a trust that reads as though it governs everything and a deed that says the decedent owned the house personally. Without a remedy, that house goes through full probate administration, with the statutory fee schedule calculated on its gross value.

What section 850 actually says

Probate Code section 850 is broader than its Heggstad nickname suggests. It lets a personal representative or any interested person petition the court in defined situations: where the decedent, while living, was bound by a written contract to convey real property or transfer personal property that can be specifically enforced; where the decedent died holding title to or in possession of property that is claimed to belong to another; and where the decedent had a claim to property whose title or possession is held by someone else. The trust-funding case sits in the second category — the decedent holds record title, but the property is claimed to belong to the trust. Section 855 then allows the petition to carry claims, causes of action or matters normally raised in a civil action, so far as they are factually related to the subject matter, which is why a contested Heggstad can absorb an undue influence fight rather than spawning a second case.

Sources: Probate Code s.850 - Petition to determine title and order conveyance · Probate Code s.855 - Civil claims joined to an 850 petition · Verified 2026-08-20.

Where the name comes from

Estate of Heggstad, decided in 1993, is the California decision that made this route reliable. The point it settled was that a settlor’s declaration of intent can establish trust ownership without a separate conveyance — that a schedule listing the property as a trust asset can carry the day even where no deed was ever recorded. Practitioners now use “Heggstad petition” and “850 petition” interchangeably, though the statute reaches a good deal more than trust funding.

What evidence carries it

Evidence	Weight
Schedule A or asset schedule listing the property	Strongest — direct written expression of intent
General assignment of assets to the trust	Strong, especially if signed with the trust
Signed but unrecorded deed to the trust	Strong
Trust refers to the property specifically in its terms	Good
Contemporaneous letters, attorney notes, tax treatment	Supporting
Nothing but the existence of a trust	Usually not enough

What it saves

The comparison that matters is against the probate it avoids. A section 850 petition is one noticed hearing; administration is a year or more of statutory deadlines, an inventory and appraisal, a creditor period, and two statutory fees calculated on gross value. On a home appraised at nine hundred thousand dollars the fee difference alone runs into tens of thousands.

When it will not work

The petition depends on evidence of intent, and there are cases where none exists. An asset the settlor bought after signing the trust and never mentioned anywhere, a property deliberately kept outside the trust, or a schedule that lists a different parcel are all real obstacles. Where the facts are thin, the honest answer is that ordinary administration or a small estate procedure may be the route, not a petition that will be denied at cost.

When it turns contested

A Heggstad petition is noticed to everyone with an interest, which means the person who would inherit the asset if it stayed outside the trust gets to object. That is the moment a funding question becomes a dispute about the trust itself — whether the settlor had capacity, whether an amendment was procured by undue influence, or whether the trustee is acting for themselves. Section 855 keeps all of it in one proceeding.