Happy Chinese New Year
Jan 29, 2025
Year of the Snake
Google says :
The Snake is associated with good luck, prosperity, fertility and longevity. Those born in a Year of the Snake are thought to be extra charming, creative and elegant.
This is my year!
YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, WE HAVE ANSWERS!
VIVA ESCROW Q & A SEGMENT
(Real questions sent to us – verbatim!)
QUESTION:
Why does the Title Company want a copy of the original Trust Agreement? The Successor Trustee already granted the property to herself as an individual to sell the property. She can’t find the Trust Agreement after her father passed away and the Trust attorney has also passed away and their office can’t locate a copy either. What’s going to happen if the Trust can’t be found?
ANSWER:
When the original Trustees pass away, the Successor Trustee takes over the responsibility of dividing up the assets per the Trust. The title company wants to review the Trust to ascertain who the Successor Trustee is and if the person had the right to grant the property to herself. They want to be sure there are no future issues in which other Beneficiaries come back and demand a part of the real estate sold.
Is the Successor Trustee automatically a Beneficiary of the assets of the Trust? No!
If the Trust Agreement cannot be found, that is a problem and there might not be a title company who would be willing to risk insuring the property.
EDUCATIONAL MOMENT:
The whole world does not need to know the private financial information included in the Trust, so a Trust Agreement IS NOT recorded. That leaves us with two issues:
First, without a copy of the Trust, we have nothing to back up who the Successor Trustee is and what the terms of the Trust are. How do we verify she gets the property? There might be other Beneficiaries named in that Trust who get part of the assets. In fact, she might not even be a Beneficiary.
Second, if there is no proof for the above, then it is a distinct possibility that a Probate might need to be done, which defeats the original reason for setting up the Trust.
Hence my two recommendations: #1 – You put in the time, effort and money to set up the Trust, let your loved ones know where the documents are or give them a copy! If not, then your loved ones may be left with #2 – talking to a Trust Attorney because his services may be needed to establish ownership after your death!
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~ Video of the Month ~
We are now a world made up of acronyms:
Here is how the Mortgage World chats on the phone
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~ Quote of the Month ~
The unspoken rule for using any calculator is to hit the clear button 3-5 times before starting a new equation.
(And if you don’t know what a calculator is, you are obviously too young)
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It’s Back to the Basics!
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You Have Questions? We Have Answers!
Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI, SASIP
“Escrow is my FOREMOST language!”
Advance Disclosure:
The opinions expressed in this blog are solely the author’s.
Your comments and viewpoints are always welcome.
Info @ VivaEscrow.com