Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

A Trust should be witnessed by a California Notary Public. To do so, your parents can take the trust, including the signature page, and either sign it before the notary or show proof that they previously signed it. The Notary will then affix a signed affidavit that your parents were the persons who signed the document.

A trust does not need to be notarized. Any deeds for real estate that is going into the trust must be notarized and recorded, but the trust document itself does not need to be notarized in order to be legally binding.

It's not necessary for the trust's validity, but it should make it easier having the trust accepted by third parties later, so I'd recommend it. They can have their signatures acknowledged by a notary public now--just contact a local notary.

I agree with Mr. Johnson. While notarization is not required by statute, it is customary, and financial institutions often request a copy of first page, trustee powers and signature page with notary acknowledgment. There may be difficulty in opening or transferring trust accounts if your parents don't take care of this now. In fact, the lack of notarization makes me suspect that your parents haven't transferred their non-real estate assets into the trust, so you might want to check on that with them too.