Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

There might be simpler ways, but I've recently done this in Sonoma County, and with the guidance of a title company, here's what we did and what you should do:

You'll need an official, original, certified Certificate of Death issued by the county, probably by its Department of Vital Statistics. Attach it to a document entitled "Affidavit - Death of Trustee" and sign the Affidavit before a notary. The Affidavit must have the legal description of the property attached as an exhibit. Then have the Affidavit and Certificate recorded with the County Recorder.

This is provided for in Probate Code section 210, and you can find sample copies of already-recorded Affidavits and Certificates at the Recorder's Office. Or, you could call upon a title company or an attorney to assist you.

I should add that the steps outlined in my previous answer only handle part of the entire transaction you need to accomplish ........ setting up the legal powers of the successor trustee. After the steps just described, there's obviously another step needed to finish up. The new (successor) trustee needs to convey the property to the proper beneficiaries. This is relatively simple, assuming the "proper beneficiaries" can be identified and there won't be any squabbles. I believe this can be done with an ordinary deed from the trust (and signed by the new trustee) to the beneficiary or beneficiaries, making clear that this is a non-pecuniary transaction.

The new trustee records an affidavit of death of trustee, which should transfer title to the living successor trustee. If the trust provides, the surviving successor trustee does separate deeds later to the beneficiary.