Most California families with real estate are better served by a revocable living trust. A will still requires probate, which is public, typically takes nine to eighteen months, and carries statutory attorney and executor fees set as a percentage of the gross estate. A trust can avoid probate entirely, keep the estate private, and control when beneficiaries inherit. A will is still needed alongside a trust as a backstop for anything not transferred into it. Which combination is right depends on what you own and how it is titled.