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If a house is in a trust and one of the beneficiaries of the trust signs a quit claim deed to the remainder beneficiaries can they split the proceeds when it is sold? The person who signs the quit claim deed has a life estate in the income from the trust however they freely (initiated) a quit claim deed releasing any interest in the house. Therefore the remainder beneficaries have agreed to sell the house and feel that it is ok to split the proceeds. Please respond.

Submitted: 272 days and 10 hours ago.

Category: Legal

Value: $15

Status: AWAITING CUSTOMER ACTION

Lakeland, Florida

Accepted Answer

Trust law is complicated.

You use the term quit claim deed, and this would typically suffice to release or convey interest in real property. If that were the only issue, the answer would be simple....BUT the issue here is the trust. If the beneficiary of a trust wishes to convey his or her interest AND if the trust allows this, then you can proceed. If this is the case (the beneficiary wants to release his interest in the trust and the trust allows this) then typically you would need to look to the trust to determine how the asset is then divided...it may be that it reverts back to the trust, or the trust may specify something else.

To answer this question you will need to carefully study the trust. You would also do well to consult a local attorney to make sure your interpretation is the correct one.

Please let me know if you have more questions and I will do my best to assist, otherwise, please accept so I may get credit for my work.

Accepts:
Expert:	psimmons
Pos. Feedback:	99.5 %
Answered:	2/23/2009

Attorney

Law Degree, 12 Years of trial experience

272 days and 10 hours ago.

Reply

The house was not in the trust until it went through probate. The trust does not mention the house in any way. Originally an attorney told us that my step-mother had a life estate in the house however in 2007 we found out that she did not. She waived any rights to the property in a pre-nuptial agreement and my father did not give her any rights to the house in the trust or his will. In his trust he only gave her the income from his money at the time of his death. She herself initiated the quit claim deed in 2007 before we found out she never had a life estate in the house. Does any of this make a difference? Since the quit claim is recorded and the house now sold we should be able to divided the sale of the house - in today's market we didn't make any money so to speak - between the remaining 3 beneficiaries - correct?

Posted by psimmons 272 days and 9 hours ago.

Info Request

you say

In his trust he only gave her the income from his money at the time of his death. She herself initiated the quit claim deed in 2007 before we found out she never had a life estate in the house.

I'm confused...how did she get the life estate she quit claimed away?

272 days and 5 hours ago.

Reply

The attorney who wrote the pre-nup, will and trust advised us right after my dad died that in Florida she had a life estate and told us that the trust over rode the pre-nup. As I lived in Michigan at that time there was no way I did not believe him and followed what he said. In July 2007, when I was visiting in Michigan, she and her niece abondoned the house and she moved to assisted living. At that time I went to another attorney and he said she had never had a life estate - that she waived it in the prenuptial when she waived any rights to my dad's property and that he only gave her a life estate in the income from his estate that was in the trust. Then in October 2007 she initiated a quit claim deed to us removing herself from any interest etc in the house.

Posted by psimmons 272 days and 5 hours ago.

Answer

Well, based on that it sounds like your in the clear...that she no longer has an interest.

You still would do well to run this by a local attorney.

If she has no more interest, then you can proceed and divide the assets accordingly

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Lakeland, Florida

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Info Request

you say In his trust he only gave her the income from his money at the time of his death. She herself initiated the quit claim deed in 2007 before we found out she never had a life estate in the house. I'm confused...how did she get the life estate she quit claimed away?

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Answer

Well, based on that it sounds like your in the clear...that she no longer has an interest. You still would do well to run this by a local attorney. If she has no more interest, then you can proceed and divide the assets accordingly

Related Legal Questions

you say

In his trust he only gave her the income from his money at the time of his death. She herself initiated the quit claim deed in 2007 before we found out she never had a life estate in the house.

I'm confused...how did she get the life estate she quit claimed away?

Well, based on that it sounds like your in the clear...that she no longer has an interest.

You still would do well to run this by a local attorney.

If she has no more interest, then you can proceed and divide the assets accordingly