Matthew S. Payne is a Schaumburg-based attorney with a 20-year record of success in civil litigation, real estate law and estate planning.

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How do you transfer real estate titles to a trust?

On Behalf of | Sep 7, 2022 | Estate Planning

You might think it’s complicated to transfer property into a trust in Illinois. Fortunately, it is easier than you might assume. With that in mind, here are the three steps needed to transfer real estate into a trust.

Getting a hold of the original real estate deed

If you own a property, you’ll need to track down the deed to the building. A deed is a legally binding document that proves ownership of a property. If you have this document handy, you can move to the next step. If not, you’ll need to track down your deed. It’s also a good idea to use this time to make sure there are no liens or defects on your title.

Creating a new deed

To transfer real estate, you’ll need to prepare a new deed. Learning that you have to create a new deed might make you feel overwhelmed. Don’t worry. You shouldn’t have to rewrite your deed from top to bottom. Instead, the main thing to focus on adding to the new deed is that your property has a new owner. You’ll also need to include your name in this document as the property’s previous owner.

Signing the deed in the presence of a notary

The last step of this estate planning process is a simple one. As the property owner, you’ll need to sign your newly-created deed in the presence of a notary public. After signing, the notary seals or stamps the document.

After signing over your property, the final thing to do is to register this new deed. Then, the trust becomes the new owner.