Question: Libby, how do you sell a home with a Trust or Power of Attorney? Answered by Libby Guthrie
Video Transcript
Hi, I’m Libby Guthrie, Keller Williams Realty in Northern California. And today we’re going to discuss selling a home that’s in a Trust and also selling a home for a relative that you have the power of attorney for.
Always consult with your attorney regarding the sale of a home in a trust, and also selling a home on behalf of a relative, and you have power of attorney.
One of the first things that you might want to do is go ahead and meet with your real estate agent and get a game plan about selling a home, for example, in a trust.
It could be a trust for your own personal home, or you could be selling the home for a relative or a friend that you are the successor trustee for.
So review the trust with your real estate agent and give your real estate agent permission to provide a copy of the trust to the title company.
You want to do this prior to putting the home on the market, so they’re not any surprises that come up during the escrow period.
Once the title company has reviewed the trust and everything looks good, make sure that you have put your bank accounts in the trust or at least one bank account because the proceeds from the sale of the home will be made payable to the trust.
A lot of times people don’t think about that and then we’re ready to close escrow and they have not set up a bank account in the Trust name.
You would need to work with your specific bank and provide copies of the trust for them so that they know that you can set up a bank account on behalf of the trust.
We sometimes encounter power of attorney for people that want to sell a home on behalf of a relative, for example, that’s no longer competent.
So that person has power of attorney (POA), that’s another thing, you want to have the title company review prior to putting the home on the market. Again, just in case there’s some kind of surprises that you don’t know about that may come up.
One thing we’ve seen is that the power of attorney paperwork was not done properly or it wasn’t signed properly, and then possibly there might be some issues that come up.
Also remember that if you’re selling on behalf of a relative, for example, and you have power of attorney and that relative does pass away, the power of attorney is no longer in effect.
Again, please consult your attorney regarding the trust and a power of attorney before you put your home on the market. And so then you’re comfortable knowing what your duties are as a trustee, for example, or as the power of attorney for a relative.
Do you have any questions regarding selling a home with a Trust and power of attorney, and you’re wanting to consult a real estate agent.
We’ll be happy to help you, even if you’re not in the Northern California area, as we have contacts all over the United States.
My number is 925-628-2436. Thanks.
Leave a Reply