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Rudy Flores · (619) 392-6714 · Real Estate Strategist, Realtor® · CalDRE #02257808 · Responsible Broker CalDRE #01481919
For successor trustees: the notices, the county forms and the sale itself, in order, with the official sources behind each step.
A home held in a living trust usually skips the courtroom, and the trust document becomes the rulebook. Here is how a trust sale tends to unfold in San Diego County, one step at a time.
Serving as a successor trustee and planning the next step for the home? The Home Strategy Quiz is four quick questions, and Rudy reads every answer himself.
Take the Home Strategy QuizThe San Diego court puts it simply: “A trust avoids probate on any assets that are titled in the name of the trust.” Its trust FAQ adds that trusts are not registered with the court, and that a trustee has the powers the trust gives unless they conflict with California law or a court orders otherwise.
A home that never made it into the trust follows another path, such as probate or one of the simpler court procedures. The hub page lays those out: how homes usually pass.
The Orange County court’s guide to trusts describes the notice that starts things off. Within 60 days after becoming trustee or after the death, whichever is later, the trustee sends written notice to the beneficiaries and heirs (Probate Code section 16061.7). The notice gives a deadline to contest the trust: 120 days after receiving it, or 60 days after a copy of the trust is delivered, whichever is later.
Many trustees plan the listing calendar with their attorney around these dates. That is planning, not a rule: the trust and the attorney decide when a sale can go ahead.
The Orange County court’s list of a trustee’s duties reads like a good checklist: act for the beneficiaries’ benefit, keep trust property separate, use reasonable care and skill, treat beneficiaries even-handedly, avoid conflicts of interest, and keep records and give reports. Selling assets is among a trustee’s ordinary powers unless a court order says otherwise.
For a home sale, that tends to mean three things: a written value, a marketing plan the beneficiaries can see, and every offer kept on file. Each one makes the trustee’s report easier to write and easier to read.
Sometimes the buyer is one of the beneficiaries. Two documents keep it clear for everyone: a written fair-value comparison and an agreement prepared by the attorney. If a child will make the home their main home, the Prop 19 question above applies. A loan may be part of the purchase, and the lender note under “Keep exploring” covers that side.
The trustee decides; the attorney advises on the trust and the notices; Rudy handles the value, preparation, marketing and escrow, and keeps the offer log the trustee can share. Rudy’s comparable-sales review is not an appraisal, and the CPA may ask for a formal date-of-death appraisal.
Who Rudy works for. In a trust sale, Rudy and Coldwell Banker West represent the trustee, who is the seller, rather than each beneficiary. A beneficiary hoping to buy can have an agent of their own; Rudy can represent both sides only if everyone agrees in writing.
Disclosures. A trustee selling for the trust usually doesn’t complete the Transfer Disclosure Statement (Civil Code section 1102.2(d)). The exception is a revocable-trust trustee who owned the home or lived in it within the past year. Hazard-zone disclosures apply either way, and what the trustee knows about the home’s condition should be shared.
Tell Rudy about the home and the trust’s timing. He reviews recent comparable sales and sends a written value for today. For the date of death he can share nearby sales from around then for your CPA, who may want a licensed appraiser’s date-of-death appraisal for tax reporting. A comparable-sales review is not an appraisal.
Usually not. The San Diego court’s trust FAQ says a trustee has the powers the trust gives unless they conflict with California law or a court orders otherwise, and trusts are not registered with the court. Your attorney confirms what your trust allows.
It can be. The Assessor treats the date of death as the change in ownership, even for a home in a trust, unless an exclusion such as Prop 19’s parent-child exclusion applies.
Then the trust may not control it, and another path, such as probate or a simpler court procedure, may apply. An estate attorney can tell from the deed and the documents.
Yes. Within 60 days of becoming trustee or of the death, whichever is later, the trustee sends written notice to beneficiaries and heirs, and the notice states the deadline to contest.
It can happen when the trust allows it. A written fair-value comparison and an agreement prepared by the attorney keep it clear for everyone.
Talk to a lender. Rates, loan programs and approvals come from lenders, not from websites or real estate agents. Talk to your own mortgage broker, or use our preferred lender, Point Mortgage Corporation (NMLS #231073), at (619) 475-4095. You are always free to choose any lender you like, and you can verify any lender’s license at nmlsconsumeraccess.org.
Rudy does not pay or accept referral fees, and you are always free to choose any lender, attorney, CPA or other professional you like.
General information for orientation, not legal, tax, financial or appraisal advice. Details change; confirm anything that matters with the official source, your lender and your agent.