While interest rates have risen they are low and many people have re-financed their homes. If you are one of the many that have taken advantage of these great rates and you have a trust included in your estate plan, there is a little extra homework that you should do.
I’ve had numerous clients come in thinking that their estate planning days are over only to realize that the property they placed into their trust is no longer part of the trust property.
If you’ve refinanced your home after it was placed into a trust, there’s a good chance that your home is no longer in the trust. During the re-finance process, the banks have the title company prepare a deed pulling the home out of the trust and putting it in your names in order to complete the refinance. Unfortunately, the banks do not take the additional step of placing the property back into the trust once the refinance is done.
And, with all of the documents that are required to close on a re-finance most people have no idea.
The Maricopa County Assessor’s Office website allows you to check the legal title of your property, located in Maricopa County, for free. Click here to check the title on your home.
Once you’re at the home screen, a large search bar appears. Enter the address of the property in question into the search bar. Once the property pops up, you can see several pieces of information such as the Owner of the property.
If, as part of your estate plan, your home was part of your trust and it now shows that you own your home in your individual name, not the name of the trust, you want to call us to get that fixed. We can prepare a Quit Claim Deed for you for a flat fee.
If you discover that your property has been taken out of your trust and put into your individual name and you would like us to assist you with putting it back, please call OWENS & PERKINS at(480) 994-8824.
