How to Transfer Property to an Irrevocable Trust in Pennsylvania
- 1). Hire a certified appraiser to set value upon the property you wish to transfer. Contact the Certified Appraisers Guild of America (CAGA) for a list of appraisers in your area. CAGA requires its members to complete a certification program and comply with professional codes of conduct.
- 2). Prepare an assignment for property without titles and a quitclaim deed for property with titles, such as real estate. Either document allows you to transfer property into a trust.
- 3). Identify the parties involved. Name yourself as the grantor and the irrevocable trust as the settlor. Enter the appraised value of property and provide a legal description of all real property.
- 4). Endorse the deed with a signature and signing date. According to Pennsylvania signing laws, you must notarize any instrument used to transfer property from one entity to another.
- 5). Record the deed in the county that governs the trust. According to Pennsylvania state law, you must record the sale or transfer of real property at the county clerk or recorder's office. Fees do apply. Pennsylvania law does not require you to record the transfer of non-real property.
- 6). Convey copies of trust documents to the trustee. Instruct him to safeguard the documents in a fireproof safe. Pennsylvania trust code requires a trustee to keep permanent records of the trust.
