How to Sell a House Held in an Irrevocable Trust
Inherited a home in a trust? Explore how to sell a house held in an irrevocable trust. See expert tips to help you decide how to proceed.
You’re ready to sell your house, but there’s one small detail: It’s held in an irrevocable trust. You may be wondering how this will affect the process of listing and selling the property — or if it’s even possible to sell at all.
In this guide, we’ll take a deep dive into how to go about selling a house that’s in an irrevocable trust — the parties involved, the steps required, the pros and cons, mistakes to avoid, and the benefits of partnering with an experienced real estate agent.
Keep in mind that these are just guidelines. Your trust agreement, which is a document created by the creator of the trust, will ultimately dictate the specific terms of your process.
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What is an irrevocable trust?
In a definition from Cornell Law School, an irrevocable trust is described as “any trust where the grantor cannot change or end the trust after its creation.” Real estate investors typically define an irrevocable trust as a legal arrangement in which the trustee (usually the settlor, or creator of the trust) cannot make changes to the trust — nor can they dissolve it — without the permission of the beneficiaries.
This type of trust is often used to protect assets from future creditors, minimize estate taxes, or expand access to government benefits.
