Baltimore, MD asked in Estate Planning for Connecticut

Q: In Connecticut, does a living trust need to be witnessed if it contains real property?

I didn't think so but then I came across this Thompson Reuters doc https://www.cl-law.com/uploads/Revocable-Trusts-Connecticut-w-010-5933.pdf (written by CT lawyers) that says that a revocable trust does need to be witnessed in CT if it "conveys real property (Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 47-5). " Now I'm not sure if my simple revocable living trust (that will contain my house) "conveys" real property so that I would need to get it witnessed. Thanks!

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1 Lawyer Answer
Steven Basche
PREMIUM
Steven Basche
Answered
  • Estate Planning Lawyer
  • West Hartford, CT
  • Licensed in Connecticut

A: Very often after a revocable trust is created (or at the same time) the grantor who sets up the trust will transfer his or her house to the trust via a deed. It is unusual, very unusual, for the trust itself to convey real property.

So assuming you follow the procedure of setting up the trust and then doing a deed to the trust, it doesn't need to be witnessed.

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