Selling Trust Property

Trust Real Estate Broker in West LA

At the law offices of Mike Millea, we help clients throughout Torrance, the South Bay, and the greater Los Angeles area navigate the legal complexities of the real estate market and get the best possible deals on residential real estate, commercial real estate, and investment properties. As an expert in a variety of real estate domains, Mike Millea has the experience to help you buy and sell even the most complicated types of property, including probate real estate and trust properties. If you’re thinking of selling trust property in California, we can help.

How to Sell Trust Property in Los Angeles, California

Trust property is any real estate property that falls under a trust: a legal document, similar to a will, that dictates what will happen to assets and properties after the death of their owner. Trusts name two distinct legal parties that are important to the trust real estate brokerage process: the trustee, who is in charge of the trust; and the beneficiary, who receives the stated asset or property. In order to successfully buy or sell trust property, it’s critical that the trustee and the beneficiary receiving cooperate on the sale.

The Trust Real Estate Sales Process

The process of selling trust real estate is similar to a normal real estate sale, but with a few added steps and complexities. There are two primary ways to sell trust real estate property: selling with the trustee or selling without the trustee, and each follows a slightly different process.

How to Sell Trust Property With the Trustee

Selling with the trustee is slightly simpler than selling without. In this process, the trustee sells the property to an outside party, then the funds from the sale become a part of the overall trust. The process of selling with the trustee runs roughly as follows:

  • First, you’ll need to review the trust documents to ensure the trustee has the right to sell the property. This is fairly standard and should be part of the trust paperwork, and even if it isn’t explicitly stated, most courts will allow the trustee to sell the property unless the trust documents explicitly forbid it.
  • After confirming the right to sell, you’ll need to find an experienced trust real estate agent to facilitate the process.
  • To close the sale, you’ll need to supply sufficient proof that the trust is valid and the trustee has the right to sell the property. This will normally require a Certification of Trust signed by a trust attorney, a death certificate of the trust creator, and a tax ID number.
  • Finally, with all documents and rights verified, you can close the sale once the trustee, beneficiary, and buyer reach an agreeable deal.
  • After finalizing the sale, the earnings become assets of the trust and can be either given to the beneficiary or kept in an account for safekeeping.

How to Sell Trust Property Without the Trustee

Selling without the trustee is another option when selling Los Angeles trust real estate. This process goes roughly as follows:

  • First, review the trust documents to ensure there are no clauses preventing the trustee from transferring the real estate title to the beneficiary. Unless this transfer is explicitly forbidden in the trust documents, the transfer can occur.
  • Keep in mind that even if the transfer is legally allowed, the trustee has the power to allow or disallow the transfer depending on their judgment– they are, after all, in control of the trust.
  • If the trustee approves the transfer, they’ll need to complete a deed form and file it with a local property office to make the transfer official.
  • Once the transfer is complete, the beneficiary owns the property and can hire a real estate agent to sell the property on their own, per the process above.

Contact Your Los Angeles Conservatorship Real Estate Broker

Selling trust property in California is common, but it’s also a complicated process with many steps and intricacies. The only way to truly protect yourself and ensure the best possible sale is to hire an experienced trust real estate agent. Thankfully, Mike Millea is the most experienced trust agent in California, with more than 25 years of experience as a state attorney and a Los Angeles trust real estate broker. Contact us or call us today at (310) 939-9356 if you’d like to learn more about the trust real estate sales process or begin discussing your trust property. We look forward to hearing from you!