The Listen to Lawrence Letter: Selling a House in an Irrevocable Trust
February 23, 2022
Dear Clients and Friends:
I get so many questions about houses in trusts. Here is one more:
CLIENT QUESTIONS:
My questions are: We have our house in an irrevocable trust. When we sell our house, do we need a specialized attorney at the closing, and do you
have one in your practice? After we sell it and put the money in a trust account in a bank, is there a time period in which we have to buy a condo or put the money back in the trust if we decide to rent?
MY RESPONSE:
Good questions. If and when your trustee sells your house someday (with your consent), a real estate lawyer who is savvy about these irrevocable trusts should be retained to represent you with the sale. Why have another attorney go through the motions to get up to speed? We have such a lawyer on staff and indeed we represent the vast majority of our clients who are in this situation. We also have a thriving real estate practice for our clients who do not have these trusts.
Upon the sale of the house in the trust, the proceeds of the sale should be placed in a trust bank account or otherwise invested in the name of the trust. There is no current time period in which to reinvest the money in another home inside the trust. Therefore, feel free to live anywhere until you decide whether or not the trust should purchase another residence. Please remember, the trust cannot pay your rent, in fact, the trust cannot pay any of your personal expenses.
I hope this helps! Please forward this information to your friends and relatives to share these informative answers to some very commonly asked questions.
And, if anyone you know would like to receive this
Listen to Lawrence Letter, just have them email me at
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As always, please send me your questions. If you are thinking about it, others are probably too, so my answers will no doubt help you and many others.
Let’s stay connected.
Stay safe!
Until next time,
peace, health and happiness,
Lawrence Eric Davidow