Title Held In Trusts And Divorce

Dealing with title held in trusts and divorce is an interesting topic. When people get married, they often create a trust together. In general, they are each named as a trustee. When they buy a home, the title is often put into a trust. Unfortunately, in some cases, divorce happens. On this topic, I received a phone call from a referral source. He said he had met someone divorcing and they needed to sell their home.

Signing documents online is generally simple enough. This may not be possible in a divorce, especially if they are still living together in the property. When the clients can not agree, and I am in the room or on a conference call, sometimes I excuse myself. During the details of trusts and divorce when signing a listing agreement, with communications between the parties strained, I always say call your attorneys for legal advice.

When escrow closing happens, the sellers usually have the proceeds wired to their bank. One couple got creative and opened two separate bank accounts with each being named as a trustee signer, in the name of the trust. The title officer said, no, she could not split the funds into two different accounts. Her reason was the official trust documents named both co-trustees, so they had to have one account in the name of the trust. Both trustees had to be on the trust checking account, jointly. The trustees went back to the bank and opened another trust account.

What I love about real estate are unique situations that occur and working through them. Title held in trusts and divorce is a topic of much discussion. I recently attended the Placer County Association with fiduciaries attorneys and trust planners. The topic was trusts and divorce. Always trustees and successor trustees should consult with their attorney for any legal advice.

From the title officer’s guidance: keep your trust checking account in place as joint assets may need to be deposited into that account for distribution. For trusts and probate sales, call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors with RE/MAX Gold. If we don’t know the answer, we will find it from one of our many experts. Our title officer has been in the business for 35 years. To reach us call 916-233-6759.

— JaCi Wallace