Q: Can an owner QC the deed of their property to someone if that property is listed in their Trust to go to someone else?
If someone has an irrevocable Trust for their home that is paid off, can that person sign over a quick claim deed on their home to a different person? My mother in law passed away last year. She has a Trust that gives the house to her 3 children. However in 2020, one of her grandchildren had her sign a QC deed to put the home in her name. Can the 3 children still invoke the Trust and sell the home despite it being listed in the granddaughter's name now?
A: This is way too complicated for an online response. The children should retain an attorney in the state in which the property is located (which appears to be Florida).
Phillip William Gunthert agrees with this answer
A: In order for the property to be considered part of the trust, known as corpus, the deed to the property must be in the name of the trust. In this case, it sounds like the settlor, the person who created the trust, had not transferred it to the trust and still owned it in her individual name. Therefore, any trust provision relating to that property would not have taken effect. However, if the property was part of the trust and was transferred out of the trust by the trustee without compensation, there could definitely be issues with failure to properly administer the trust. Consulting an attorney would be useful to help sort out the details.
Terrence H Thorgaard and Phillip William Gunthert agree with this answer
A: A Quit Claim Deed rules the day and wins out. You will need to have any deeds as well as the Trust reviewed by a Florida Estate Planning/Probate/Real Estate Attorney. Generally, if the Deed has been transferred and named the Trust, then it is a Trust asset (owned by Trust), if the property was never put into the Trust, then the Deed will govern the matter. If there is a surviving spouse and or minor child and the property is Homestead, then other rules likely apply and neither the deed or the trust may matter potentially, you can see how this can easily and quickly be quite complicated, but as a general answer, what the deed says generally rules the day.
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