Buying a Home From a Trust: What Is Different

Many homeowners hold their home in a living trust, a legal arrangement in which the trust, not the person, owns the house. When the owner dies, the successor trustee named in the trust takes over. That person can hire an agent, sign the listing, accept your offer and sign the closing documents, all without a court.

In Los Feliz, trust sales are a familiar part of the market, and for a buyer they are often the most straightforward kind of estate purchase. The successor trustee is frequently an adult child or another family member, and sometimes a professional fiduciary. Either way, they are acting for the trust's beneficiaries, which shapes how they make decisions.

If you have read about probate purchases, you can set several steps aside:

• No wait for the court to appoint anyone or issue Letters.
• No Notice of Proposed Action and 15-day objection period.
• No court confirmation hearing, and no overbidding in a courtroom.

Trust administration is also generally not filed with a court, so the sale is not part of a public case file the way a probate is. Our process page explains who has authority to sell in a trust and in a probate, side by side.

Title and escrow need to see that the trustee has the power to sell. They commonly ask for a copy of the trust or a shorter document called a certification of trust, along with a certified death certificate. Your agent does not need to gather these, but it helps to know they are part of the file.

One question is worth asking early: is the home actually titled in the trust's name? Sometimes a home was meant to be in a trust but was never deeded into it. When that happens, the family's attorney may need a court petition, often called a Heggstad petition, to confirm the home belongs to the trust. That can add time, so it is better to know at the start.

Trust sales often look like probate sales in one respect: the home is frequently sold as is. The successor trustee may not have lived in the house and may know little about its systems or history. Some of the standard seller disclosure forms do not apply to certain trust sales, while other disclosures still do, including anything the trustee actually knows. The trust's attorney confirms which forms apply.

So plan your inspections the way you would for any older home. Many Los Feliz homes date from the 1920s and 1930s, and a careful look at the foundation, sewer line, electrical and roof during your contingency period tells you what the paperwork cannot.

A successor trustee must follow the trust and act for all of its beneficiaries. The trustee also has to send a formal notice to the beneficiaries and heirs after the trust becomes irrevocable, generally within 60 days. Beneficiaries do not vote on your offer, but a careful trustee often keeps them informed, and some prefer to hear from everyone before accepting.

For you, that can mean a day or two more for a response than a typical seller would take. It rarely changes the overall timeline, which usually runs much like a standard escrow once the offer is signed.

If the trustee lives out of state, documents can often be signed electronically or before a notary where the trustee lives. And if the trust names two co-trustees, both may need to sign, so it is worth asking early who will sign for the trust. These are small details, but knowing them at the start keeps your escrow moving on schedule.

At Rooster Homes, Brandon S. Arlington holds the Certified Probate & Trust Specialist designation, and we work alongside the trust's attorney so the paperwork title needs is in order early. On our trust listings, the trustee receives a real, specific update after every showing, which helps offers get a timely answer.

If you are looking at a home held in a trust in Los Feliz or nearby and want to understand how that sale is likely to go, we are glad to walk you through it. Start a confidential conversation whenever you are ready.