How to Transfer a Home Deed to a Living Trust
A living trust is an agreement governing the income and assets you placed in the trust during your life and arranged for after your death. You may fund your trust with your property, like real estate. You can place real estate into your trust using a deed, a legal document used to show ownership of property. More than one type of deed is available, but a quitclaim deed is typically sufficient for a transfer of property into a trust, though it does not guarantee the property's legal ownership status, as occurs with a warranty deed.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Visit a print shop. Get a blank quitclaim deed form for the state in which the property is located.
-
2
Locate your deed to the property. If necessary, visit the recorder or clerk's office in the county where the property is located for a copy of your deed.
-
-
3
Fill out the date section of the quitclaim deed. Enter the day, month and year of the transfer.
-
4
Complete the "grantor" section of the quitclaim deed. You, as the current property owner, are the grantor. Use your legal name and insert your address. Enter the names and addresses of any other current owners of the property, like your spouse.
-
5
Fill out the "grantee" section of the quitclaim deed. The grantee is the recipient of the property. Some states require that you note the names of the trustees in the grantee section. List the names and addresses of the trustees and insert "trustee" after each name. Enter "of" after the last trustee's address and follow with the name of your living trust. Use the trust name as shown on your agreement.
-
6
Complete the consideration section of the quitclaim deed. The consideration is the money being paid for the transfer. Contact your county recorder's office, if you are unsure what amount you must put, if no money is being paid.
-
7
Enter the legal description on the quitclaim deed. The legal description is your property's measurements and boundaries described in words. Use the legal description from your current deed, if the property's size has not changed.
-
8
Get a survey, if the property's measurements have changed. Hire a licensed surveyor and inform him you need a new legal description written. Use the surveyor's legal description on the quitclaim deed.
-
9
Sign the deed before a licensed notary. Have all other owners also sign, then have the document notarized. Contact the county recorder's office, if you do not know where notaries are located in your area.
-
10
File the completed deed in the county recorder's office to complete the transfer. You may have to fill out a property transfer or property tax form to file the deed; obtain the form at the county recorder's office and follow the given instructions. A filing fee may apply; the amount varies by area. Request a copy of the deed for your records.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Contact an attorney if you are uncertain about any aspects of the transfer.
