How to Transfer Your Home to a Trust 

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Thinking about how to Transfer Your Home to a Trust? 

Smart move. 

A properly executed transfer can streamline planning, avoid probate, and keep your affairs private—but the process differs for houses/condos vs. co-ops and involves specific NYC and New York State filings. This guide explains what to do, what to file, and why funding (retitling) your real estate into the trust is essential.

Why Funding Your Trust With Real Estate Matters

Many people sign a beautiful trust—and then never fund it. Here’s why moving your NYC property into the trust is critical:

  1. Avoiding probate (and ancillary probate).
    Only assets titled in the trust avoid probate. If your NYC condo remains in your individual name, your executor must go through Surrogate’s Court—and if you also own out-of-state property, there may be a second (ancillary) probate. Funding the trust sidesteps that.
  2. Continuity during incapacity.
    If you become incapacitated, the successor trustee can immediately manage, refinance, lease, or sell trust property without a guardianship proceeding. If the home isn’t in the trust, your family may need a court-appointed guardian to act.
  3. Keeping your plan private and faster to execute.
    Probate filings are public and can take months. Trust administration is typically private and faster—but only for assets actually in the trust.
  4. Pour-over wills don’t fix everything.
    A pour-over will can move unfunded assets into the trust after probate. That defeats the purpose. Proper funding now avoids that detour.
  5. Aligning tax, insurance, and title coverage.
    Funding prompts updates to title and insurance so your trustee has clear authority and coverage at the moment it’s needed.
  6. Special NYC co-op reality.
    Co-ops require board approval and formal transfer of shares and the proprietary lease. Without completing that process, the co-op will treat you—not the trustee—as owner, complicating any sale or succession.

Step-by-Step: How to Transfer Your Home to a Trust

House or Condo → Trust (NYC)

  1. Establish your trust.
    Typically a revocable living trust with you as initial trustee and named successor(s).
  2. Prepare and sign a deed from you, individually, to you as trustee (e.g., “Jane Doe, as Trustee of the Jane Doe Revocable Trust dated…”) with proper acknowledgments.
  3. Assemble the NYC/NYS recording packet.
    • ACRIS cover pages (NYC e-recording portal)
    • NYC RPTT return (reported even if no tax is due)
    • NYS TP-584 (state transfer-tax return; often claiming exemption)
    • RP-5217-NYC (Real Property Transfer Report)
  4. Record the deed with the NYC City Register (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx) or Richmond County Clerk (Staten Island), pay fees, and retain the recorded copies.

Step-by-Step Part 2: Transfer Your Home to a Trust

Co-op → Trust (NYC)

  1. Confirm co-op policy early.
    Most allow trust ownership but require a review of the trust, a recognition agreement, and sometimes a personal guaranty. Best practice is to request the “packet” from the coop for the steps to transfer the coop into the Trust. If the coop does not allow transfers to Trusts, then it’s good to know this in advance so that you can pursue alternative estate planning strategies.
  2. Apply for consent and close with the transfer agent.
    The transfer is documented by issuing a new stock certificate and proprietary lease in the trustee’s name.
  3. File the NYC RPTT co-op transfer return and complete any building/transfer agent requirements.
    (Co-ops aren’t transferred by deed, so RP-5217-NYC is not used.)

Mortgage & “Due-on-Sale” Clauses (Practical Notes)

  • Transfers of your primary residence into your inter vivos (living) trust—with you as a beneficiary and no change in occupancy—are typically protected from acceleration under federal law.
  • Still, lenders want notice, updated insurance endorsements, and (for co-ops) the recognition agreement reflecting the trustee’s authority.

FAQ on How To Transfer Your Home to a Trust

If I signed a trust years ago but never moved my apartment into it, am I covered?

Not really. The trust can only control what it owns. Use a deed (house/condo) or share/lease assignment with board approval (co-op) to fund it.

Do I owe transfer tax to put my condo into my revocable trust?

Usually it’s a reportable but non-taxable change in form with no change in beneficial ownership—yet you still file the returns on time to avoid penalties.

Will my property taxes or STAR change?

A properly drafted revocable trust transfer typically preserves existing exemptions and billing, but you must complete the filings correctly and keep occupancy consistent.

Can I refinance or sell after I transfer to the trust?

Yes. As trustee, you may act; if you’re incapacitated, your successor trustee can act without court intervention.

What RK Law Does for You When You Want to Transfer Your Home to a Trust 

  • Choose and draft the right trust (revocable, irrevocable, special needs, tax-sensitive variants).
  • Prepare and record deeds (houses/condos) with the full ACRIS/RPTT, TP-584, RP-5217-NYC packet.
  • Coordinate co-op approvals, recognition agreements, and the share/lease transfer.
  • Notify lenders/insurers and align your will, pour-over will, POA, and health care proxy so the plan works.
  • Audit your asset list to confirm the trust is fully funded, not half-funded.

Pro Tips & Pitfalls on How To Transfer Your Home to a Trust 

  • Funding is not automatic. Signing a trust without retitling real estate defeats your goals. Typically the purpose of creating a Trust would be avoid probate and if you do not re-title the asset into the Trust, then you will need to probate.
  • Name the grantee precisely. Small errors in the trust name/date or trustee capacity can cloud title.
  • Mind co-op timelines. Board reviews and transfer-agent scheduling can add weeks—start early.

For more information, please contact NYC Probate Litigation, Guardianship, Probate, and Estate Planning attorney Regina Kiperman:

Phone: 917-261-4514
Fax: 929-556-2089
Email: rkiperman@rklawny.com

Or visit her at:
40 Wall Street
Suite 2508
New York, NY 10005
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This page is made available by the lawyer for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the lawyer. The post should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.

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