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Really, the only way I can think of to lose your house (taking out gambling it away, not paying your taxes, a fire, etc.) is if someone sues you, and either gets a lien or a judgment against it. Either way, you would very likely have some advance notice, so could do some planning.
With your house, the homestead exemption helps, but in most states (including California) it isn't very high.
A house with equity is "number one" on the list that a creditor likes to see. It is the proverbial sitting duck. With one filing with the county recorder's office, title to it can be tied up.
One way that some protect their house is to never have any equity in the house! That makes it useless to a creditor. If there is some equity, you could have a big HELOC, that you could draw down on quickly to suck out all the equity (although not sure how HELOCs are going these days).
The best way, IMO, to protect your assets is to be insured in the appropriate amounts. $1 million isn't what it used to be, but even in this day and age, a $1 million umbrella policy goes a long way to defending and settling a liability claim against you.
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