If you own a home or other real estate in Oklahoma, you may be wondering whether it’s a good idea to transfer that property into a living trust. For many families, placing real estate into a revocable living trust offers significant legal and financial advantages—especially when it comes to avoiding probate and protecting heirs. Here’s what you need to know about how living trusts work and why they’re a popular estate planning tool in Oklahoma.

What Is a Living Trust?

A living trust is a legal document that allows you to place your assets into a trust during your lifetime. You (the grantor) typically serve as the trustee while you’re alive, which means you keep full control over your property. You can buy, sell, refinance, or live in your home just as you normally would.

When you pass away, a successor trustee takes over and distributes the trust property according to your instructions.

Key Advantages of Transferring Real Estate to a Living Trust

1. Avoiding Probate

Probate is the court-supervised process of distributing a deceased person’s estate. It can be time-consuming, public, and expensive. Real estate that’s in only your name will likely need to go through probate unless it’s held in a trust.

When your property is titled in the name of your trust, your successor trustee can transfer or sell it without court approval, saving time and money for your heirs.

2. Maintaining Privacy

Probate proceedings are public record. That means anyone can see the value of your property, who inherited it, and whether creditors filed claims. A living trust, on the other hand, keeps your real estate and estate plan private, since it avoids the public probate process.

3. Faster Access for Beneficiaries

Without the delays of probate, your heirs or beneficiaries can receive the property more quickly—often in weeks, not months. This can be especially important if they need to sell the home, move into it, or pay property-related expenses soon after your death.

4. Continuity if You Become Incapacitated

A living trust doesn’t just plan for death—it also prepares for incapacity. If you become unable to manage your affairs due to illness or injury, your named successor trustee can immediately step in to manage the property. This avoids the need for a court-appointed guardian or conservator.

5. Flexibility and Control

As long as the trust is revocable, you can change it, revoke it, or move assets in and out whenever. You retain full control over your real estate during your lifetime.

Do You Still Need a Will?

Even with a living trust, you should also have a “pour-over will” to catch any assets not transferred into the trust during your lifetime. The will acts as a safety net to ensure your remaining property is moved into the trust at death (though it may still have to go through probate).

How to Transfer Real Estate to a Trust

To move your property into a trust, you must execute a new deed that transfers ownership from your name to the trust. This process should be handled carefully to ensure the deed is legally valid and doesn’t trigger issues with title insurance, mortgages, or taxes.

Wagoner Estate Planning Attorneys

We help individuals and families across the state create living trusts and transfer their real estate properly. Whether you own a home, farmland, or rental property, we’ll help you protect it with a customized plan. Call our team of estate planning attorneys at Wagoner Attorneys at 918-283-7394 for a free consultation. Or you can follow this link to ask a free online legal question.