Wills, Estates & Trusts · Pittsburgh & Allegheny County
How to Deed Your House Into a Revocable Trust in Pennsylvania
Transferring real property into a revocable trust requires executing and recording a deed that names the trust as grantee. In Pennsylvania, this is done through a deed from you individually to yourself as trustee, which must be prepared, signed, notarized, and recorded with the county recorder of deeds where the property is located.
Lebovitz & Lebovitz, P.A. · Serving Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania since 1933. Based in Swissvale near the Parkway East (Swissvale–Edgewood exit).
An unfunded revocable trust provides no benefit.
A complete estate plan typically requires three coordinated documents: a will, a revocable trust, and a deed transferring your real property into the trust. If your house is not deeded into the trust before your death, your executor will need to open a probate estate to gain legal authority to transfer the property. The trust will remain dormant because it owns nothing. Your estate will incur probate costs and delays that the trust was designed to avoid.
Why You Need to Deed Property Into Your Trust
A revocable trust controls only the assets that have been formally transferred into it. Creating the trust document is not enough. If your house remains titled in your individual name when you die, it will pass through probate regardless of what your trust says. The trust has no legal authority over property that was never placed under its terms.
Probate avoidance is the primary reason clients transfer their homes into revocable trusts. Pennsylvania probate is generally not expensive for simple estates, but it is public, time-consuming, and requires court oversight of asset distribution. A properly funded trust allows your successor trustee to manage and distribute your home according to your instructions without court involvement.
What Happens If Your Trust Stays Unfunded
Some clients execute the trust document but delay funding, planning to transfer property later. This creates risk. If you become incapacitated before completing the transfer, your agent under a power of attorney may be able to deed the property into the trust on your behalf, but only if the power of attorney contains specific language authorizing trust funding. Without that authority, a guardianship may be required to complete the transfer.
The Deed Transfer Process in Pennsylvania
The transfer is accomplished through a deed from you as grantor to yourself as trustee of your revocable trust. The deed identifies the property by legal description, names you individually as grantor, and names you as trustee as grantee. In Pennsylvania, this is typically done using a special warranty deed or quitclaim deed. The deed must be signed by you as grantor, notarized, and then recorded with the recorder of deeds in the county where the property is located.
The legal description must match the description in your current deed exactly. Any discrepancy can create title problems. The trust must be identified precisely, including the full name of the trust and the date it was executed. For example, “John Smith, Trustee of the John Smith Revocable Trust dated March 15, 2024.” The grantee designation must match the trustee designation in your trust document.
Pennsylvania does not require you to record the full trust agreement. The deed references the trust by name and date, which is sufficient for recording purposes. Your trust remains private. The recorder’s office will not request a copy of the trust document.
Who Prepares the Deed
The attorney who drafted your revocable trust should prepare the deed transferring your home into the trust. This is not a DIY task. Deed preparation involves title review to confirm current ownership, legal description verification, proper grantee designation, and compliance with Pennsylvania deed execution requirements. A mistake in the deed can create title defects that prevent you from selling or refinancing the property.
Some estate planning attorneys include deed preparation as part of their trust administration services. Others charge separately for drafting and recording deeds. Clarify the scope of services and fees when you engage counsel to create your trust. Deed preparation and recording should be completed at the same time the trust is executed, not deferred to a later date.
Recording the Deed
After the deed is executed and notarized, it must be recorded with the recorder of deeds in the county where the property is located. In Allegheny County, deeds are recorded at the Department of Real Estate, located in the City-County Building in downtown Pittsburgh. Recording fees vary by county and are based on the number of pages in the deed and any associated documents.
Recording creates a public record of the transfer and establishes the trust as the legal owner of the property. The recorded deed provides notice to creditors, buyers, and lenders that the property is owned by the trust, not by you individually. Recording also establishes priority for the transfer, which can be important if there are competing claims against the property.
What Happens to Your Existing Mortgage
Transferring your home into a revocable trust does not trigger a due-on-sale clause in your mortgage. Federal law specifically exempts transfers into revocable trusts from acceleration provisions in residential mortgages. The Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act protects borrowers who transfer their primary residence into a trust while continuing to occupy the property and remain obligated on the loan.
You remain personally liable for the mortgage after the transfer. The deed shifts legal title to the trust, but it does not relieve you of your obligation to repay the loan. Most lenders do not require advance notice of a transfer into a revocable trust, but some loan documents contain notification requirements. Review your mortgage agreement or consult with your attorney before recording the deed. Some clients notify their lender as a courtesy to avoid any confusion when mortgage statements or tax documents are generated.
Property Tax and Transfer Tax Implications
Transferring property into your own revocable trust is exempt from Pennsylvania realty transfer tax under 61 Pa. Code § 91.193(b)(10). The exemption applies when the grantor and the beneficial owner of the trust are the same person and the transfer is made without consideration. You will need to file a realty transfer tax statement of value with the recorder of deeds claiming the exemption, but no tax is due on the transfer itself.
The transfer does not affect your property tax assessment. The property remains assessed under your name for real estate tax purposes. Allegheny County does not reassess property based on transfers into revocable trusts. Your annual property tax bill will continue to be issued in the same amount and on the same schedule as before the transfer.
What Happens to Your Homestead Exemption
In Pennsylvania, the homestead exemption protects a portion of your primary residence from creditors in bankruptcy proceedings. Transferring your home into a revocable trust does not eliminate the homestead exemption. Because you retain full control over the trust assets and can revoke the trust at any time, the property is still considered your homestead for exemption purposes under federal bankruptcy law.
Pennsylvania also offers a property tax relief program for seniors and individuals with disabilities, sometimes referred to as a homestead exemption. Transferring property into a revocable trust does not disqualify you from this benefit. The trust is disregarded for property tax purposes because you remain the beneficial owner of the property. You continue to occupy the home as your primary residence, and the exemption continues without interruption.
Title Insurance Considerations
Your existing owner’s title insurance policy may not automatically cover the trust as the new owner. Most title insurance policies insure the named insured only, not successors or assigns. When you transfer the property into your trust, you create a gap in coverage unless the policy is endorsed to add the trust as an additional insured.
Contact your title insurance company and request an endorsement adding the trustee of your revocable trust as an insured party. Most insurers will issue this endorsement for little or no additional premium because the transfer involves no change in beneficial ownership and no new money is changing hands. The endorsement ensures that if a title defect is discovered after the transfer, the trust is protected under the original policy.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Using the wrong deed type. Some clients attempt to use a beneficiary deed or transfer-on-death deed to fund a revocable trust. Pennsylvania does not recognize transfer-on-death deeds for real property. The only way to transfer property into a trust during your lifetime is through a standard deed that transfers present ownership, not a deed that defers transfer until death. Use a special warranty deed or quitclaim deed prepared by an attorney, not a form deed downloaded from the internet.
Failing to notify the mortgage lender. While federal law protects you from loan acceleration when you transfer your home into a revocable trust, some lenders include notification requirements in their loan documents. Failure to notify can create administrative problems, particularly if the lender sends default notices based on a mistaken belief that the property was sold. Review your mortgage agreement and notify your lender if required, or consult with your attorney to determine whether notification is advisable.
Transferring property within the Medicaid lookback period. Transferring your home into a revocable trust does not protect it from Medicaid estate recovery. Because you retain the power to revoke the trust and reclaim the property, Medicaid treats the home as a countable resource. If you transfer property into a revocable trust within five years of applying for long-term care Medicaid, the transfer will not shield the asset from eligibility rules. If asset protection is your goal, consult an elder law attorney about irrevocable trust strategies before making any transfers.
Creating a title insurance gap. Recording a deed into your trust without endorsing your title insurance policy leaves the trust uninsured. If a title defect surfaces after the transfer, the policy may not cover claims against the trust because the trust was not named as an insured. Request an endorsement from your title insurer at the time you record the deed. The cost is minimal and the protection is critical if you later sell the property or face a boundary dispute or lien claim.
Frequently Asked Questions About Deeding Property Into a Revocable Trust in Pennsylvania (FAQ)
Do I need to notify my homeowner’s insurance company when I transfer my house into a trust?
Yes. Contact your insurance agent and request that the policy be updated to name the trust as an additional insured or as the policyholder. Most insurers will make this change without increasing your premium because the beneficial ownership has not changed. Failure to update the policy can create coverage gaps if a claim is filed after the transfer.
Can I transfer only a percentage of my house into the trust?
You can transfer a partial interest, but doing so creates complications. If you own the property jointly with a spouse, you can transfer your individual interest into your trust while your spouse retains their interest individually or transfers it into a separate trust. However, transferring only a percentage interest without a specific estate planning reason adds complexity without corresponding benefit. Most clients transfer their entire interest to simplify administration.
What if I refinance the property after it is in the trust?
Most lenders will require you to deed the property out of the trust before closing on a refinance, then deed it back into the trust after the loan is funded. This is a temporary administrative step to simplify the lender’s underwriting and closing process. Your attorney should coordinate the deeding sequence to ensure the property is returned to the trust immediately after the refinance closes.
Does transferring my house into a trust affect my ability to claim the capital gains exclusion when I sell?
No. As long as you continue to occupy the home as your primary residence, you remain eligible for the Section 121 capital gains exclusion of up to $250,000 (or $500,000 if married filing jointly) when you sell. The IRS disregards revocable trusts for income tax purposes, so the sale is treated as if you sold the property individually. You must still meet the ownership and use tests: you must have owned and occupied the home as your principal residence for at least two of the five years before the sale.
What happens to the property if I revoke the trust?
If you revoke the trust, you must execute and record a new deed transferring the property from the trust back to yourself individually. The revocation of the trust does not automatically transfer title. A deed is required to re-vest legal ownership in your name. If you fail to execute the deed before you die, the property remains titled in the name of a trust that no longer exists, which creates a title defect that your estate will need to resolve through probate or a court proceeding to clear title.
For related information on trust creation and administration, see our pages on revocable trusts in Pennsylvania and whether you need a revocable trust. If you are considering using a trust for asset protection or Medicaid planning, consult an elder law attorney about irrevocable trust strategies.