CA estate planning laws, setting up a revocable trust

Two very different approaches. Having the house in the revocable trust means that the trust needs to own it, the house is managed by the trustee(s) for the exclusive benefit of the beneficiaries and, most importantly in CA, avoids probate if a trustee or beneficiary dies. Having your name on the house makes you a part owner but does not automatically transfer your mother's half of the house to you at her passing. Her will and the probate process would control.

Which one is better depends on various values both yours and hers. There are a few other ramifications which are more complicated and best addressed with an estate planning attorney in your area.

In general, putting your name on the deed with your mom is a bad idea, for both of you. Please read my article on the subject - I've included a hyperlink below. A better option is for you to receive the house through inheritance by way of a revocable living trust, as it appears the house is now held.

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Unfortunately, your question raises many other questions to be answered before one can meaningfully respond - among them i) what does the trust say now about the house and ii) what do you mean by "my name put on the house" and iii) what does your sister think about this and iv) do you intend this change to be payment for your assistance or just an unequal inheritance?

Your question is elegantly simple, but raises many subissues in multiple areas of law. And i do not understand what you mean when you say 'with the county'. Is the Public Guardian the Trustee? If so, then a Court hearing would be needed for a Substituted Judgment Petition, but this may not apply at all.

First, please know that a Trustee and an individual cannot own property together as Joint Tenants, because the Trust is of perpetual existence, until it is fulfilled according to its terms and conditions.

Secondly, with 4 years of care for your mother, where you have been able to keep her at home, you may be the one person who has helped to minimize or prevent the Estate Recovery action from attaching at the time of her death, if she has received Medi-Cal before her death. So that you can see those rules, I am attaching a link to CALIFORNIA ADVOCATES FOR NURSING HOME REFORM at www.canhr.org and suggest you contact them for referral to an estate-planning attorney in your area, to obtain County information about how your County works out the real estate taxes (Parent-Child transfer) and the CAPACITY issues.

Third, the caveats in the other answers to your question appear to me to be correct, based on the question asked, which is fairlyl general in nature, so what I think you really need is a confidential consultation with an Attorney of your own. CANHR has such Attorneys for you to consult!

Finally, good luck with your continued CareGiving! You should be keeping records about what you do, as you may be a CREDITOR of your mother's estate, in term of both time and out-of-pocket costs.