Real Estate Transfer on Death

[FlyingRon]

I think I paid around $2000 to have not only our living trusts done but also our wills, powers of attorney, and advance medical directives all done up as a nice package.

 

[TrustUser]

even in california, we have tons of people advertising trusts for 500 or so

any typical trust will suit you fine, if all you want to do is distribute everything when you die

the main reason for a better trust is if you want the trust to remain after you die

 

[TrustUser]

That is not correct in all situations.

in what situations are you referring ?

 

[Taxing Matters]

actually, the correct way to title an asset is to the trustee of the trust.

That depends very much on the state where the property is located. Practices can and do vary from state to state.

 

[TrustUser]

That depends very much on the state where the property is located. Practices can and do vary from state to state.

that was a mistake i made early on, cuz i did not want to put my name on as the trustee. all my research was almost unanimously telling me the same thing. i am guessing that the overwhelming percentages tell you to put the name of the trustee on the title.
i also stated that it was not a do or die situation. even in california, i dont think someone will have a problem if the deed to a house shows only a trust name, without the trustee.
i am simply saying that the correct way of doing it is having the trustee name. anyone disagree with that, i am fine - show me the evidence of which states PREFER not having the trustee name on it. instead of simply saying that this is not correct in all situations, or practices vary from state to state. these are lawyerese comments. as sergeant friday would say, "just the facts, maam".
if you use google, i can guarantee you that you will find many, MANY MANY more sites telling you to put the trustee name on title.

 

[Taxing Matters]

i am simply saying that the correct way of doing it is having the trustee name. anyone disagree with that, i am fine - show me the evidence of which states PREFER not having the trustee name on it.

What is "correct", i.e. required, and what is "preferred" are two different things. Your statement was that the correct way, i.e. the required way, to do it is to title the property to the trustee. My statement, which was correct, is that what is correct/required varies from state to state. I have practiced in several jurisdictions over the years and know that from experience.

Colorado is a state in which title to the property may be held in the name of the trust, and a statement of authority for the trustee is filed with the clerk and recorder too to provide the necessary information of who is authorized to act for the trust. See Colorado Rev. Stat. § 38-30-108.5, which states:

(1) A trust may acquire, convey, encumber, lease, or otherwise deal with any interest in real or personal property in the name of the trust.​

(2) In order to evidence the existence of a trust and the authority of one or more trustees to act on behalf of the trust with respect to an interest in real property held in the name of the trust, any trustee of the trust may execute and record with the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the real property is located, a statement of authority pursuant to section 38-30-172(2).​

(3) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall also apply to any interest in real or personal property that is already in the name of the trust as of August 8, 2001. Nothing in this section shall be construed to be the exclusive manner in which title to an interest in real or personal property may be held by or on behalf of a trust, and title to an interest in real or personal property may be held by or on behalf of a trust in any other manner permitted by law.​

This statute took effect in 2001 and today the preferred practice is to have the property titled just in the name of the trust with that statement of authority as it makes certain dealings with the trust property easier. When a trustee changes, the trust simply needs to file a new statement of authority. The deed is itself unaffected. This is a more modern practice. The more traditional practice in many states had been to title the property to the trustee, and hence why you see lots of references to that in basic Google searches. Not all jurisdictions expressly provide for titling property in the name of trust, but some like Colorado do. Hence the need to check the law in the relevant jurisdictions to determine that it provides and if there are choices then from there decide which way is going to be best to accomplish the goal.

 

[TrustUser]

thank you. that is what i was asking for. a state or even a county in which the preferred method was strictly titling in the trust name only.

i may actually like this method, better.

am i correct in thinking that a statement of authority is gonna look much simpler to a non-lawyer ?

simple enough that a trustee can fill it out themselves, without the need for a lawyer ?

 

[Taxing Matters]

am i correct in thinking that a statement of authority is gonna look much simpler to a non-lawyer ?

simple enough that a trustee can fill it out themselves, without the need for a lawyer ?

There is no particular mandated form for the statement of authority, but the statement is fairly simple, only a few things are required for it to be effective. While there is no mandated form, the state has produced one that people may use if they wish. You can judge for yourself how easy it would be to use for a nonlawyer: Colorado Statement of Authority

 

[JamesWhitney]

I had a lawyer quote it at $3500 minimum. That made me seek other options. Thank you all for the great information. I will talk to several other lawyers and also look at what's available online.

 

[TrustUser]

There is no particular mandated form for the statement of authority, but the statement is fairly simple, only a few things are required for it to be effective. While there is no mandated form, the state has produced one that people may use if they wish. You can judge for yourself how easy it would be to use for a nonlawyer: Colorado Statement of Authority

thanks, i think of that as being very simple