Having a Property in a Trust

When a property has been placed inside a California living trust, the trust is essentially the owner of the property, and the Trustee is the person or persons who act with authority to list and sell the property. 

In real estate practice, there are certain disclosure exemptions that may apply depending whether or not the trust is a living trust, or an irrevocable trust, and for which the Trustee must comply with.  If the Trustee is the former owner of the property, or was an occupant within the preceding year, then certain disclosures must be made by the Trustee which include the Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) and other required seller disclosures. 

Even if the Trustee was not a former owner of the property and never lived in it and not required to complete the TDS, the Trustee as seller must still carry out certain statutory requirements such as water heater bracing, smoke detector installation, water conserving plumbing fixtures, carbon monoxide devices, any known material fact disclosures, and several other standard requirements.

Under usual circumstances, sellers of a property held in a living trust or an irrevocable trust do not go through a court approval process, since one of the purposes of a trust is to avoid the probate process. 

When the Trustee wishes to list and sell a trust-held property, either the trust certificate or certain pages from the trust will be submitted into escrow for verification by escrow and the title company of the Trustee's authority to sell.

Usually trusts are drawn up by an attorney.  If you are considering a trust, please consult with an experienced trust attorney, since the language of the trust will control the irrevocable trust after death and heirs will be bound by it.

If you have questions about the sale of a property in a trust, please contact me for more conversation.

Save Time

Earn More

Grow Faster

Friendly Support

Contact Julia at any time