What a Deed Transfer Into a Trust Actually Means
A deed transfer changes who owns a property on paper. It moves the title from your personal name to the name of your trust. In Georgia, this is done with a new deed, usually a warranty deed or quitclaim deed, signed by you and filed at the county courthouse.
The deed transfer also requires a PT-61 form, Georgia’s Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration. Every deed filed in Georgia needs one. When you transfer a property into your own revocable trust, the transfer tax is $0 under O.C.G.A. § 48-6-2(a)(9), since you are still the true owner.
How Much a Deed Transfer Into a Trust Costs
At Atlanta Estate Planning, a deed transfer costs $550 for each property. The flat fee covers preparing the deed, preparing the PT-61 form, working with a notary, and filing the deed with the county.
The county charges its own separate recording fee. Most Georgia counties, including Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett, and DeKalb, charge $25 to $50 to record a deed. You pay this fee directly to the courthouse. It is not part of the attorney’s flat fee.
Title insurance is not part of the $550 fee. Most title policies are not affected by a transfer into your own revocable trust, but confirm this with your title company if you plan to sell or refinance later.
For a full breakdown of estate plan pricing for a real estate investor, see How Much Does Estate Planning Cost for a Real Estate Investor in Georgia.
What Adds to the Cost
The $550 fee covers one property held in your personal name. A few situations raise the total cost.
Owning several rental properties in your personal name adds a fee for each one. Five personal-name properties cost $2,750 to transfer ($550 multiplied by 5).
A rental property already held inside an LLC does not need a deed transfer at all. The property title stays with the LLC. Instead, the LLC’s operating agreement has to be reviewed and updated. That update lets the trust step in and control the LLC if something happens to you. For more on this step, see How to Connect Your LLC to Your Trust in Georgia.
An out-of-state property needs its own local attorney to prepare the deed. Georgia counsel can handle the trust side, but only an attorney licensed in that state can prepare a deed there.
What It Costs to Skip the Transfer
Skipping the deed transfer does not remove the cost. It only delays it and hands the decision to a probate court instead.
- Cost: A simple Georgia probate averages $15,000 in attorney fees and court costs, with a typical range of $8,000 to $15,000.
- Timeline: Probate usually takes 9 to 18 months before an heir can sell or refinance the property.
- Control: Your family cannot collect or distribute rental income from the property while probate is open.
That is thousands of dollars in probate costs, compared to a one-time $550 deed transfer today. For a full look at this trade-off, see How Much Does Probate Cost for Georgia Rental Properties.
How to Transfer a Property Into a Trust in Georgia
1
Confirm Your Trust Is Signed First
Your trust must be signed and notarized before any deed can name it as the new owner. A deed into an unsigned trust is not valid.
2
Gather the Current Deed for Each Property
Your attorney needs the existing deed to confirm the legal description and current owner of record. A mismatched legal description can invalidate the new deed.
3
Sign the New Deed With Two Witnesses
Georgia requires two witnesses for a real property deed, plus a notary. Your attorney prepares the new deed naming your trust as the owner.
4
File the PT-61 Form and Record the Deed
The PT-61 form is filed with the county at the same time as the deed. Once recorded, the trust is the property’s legal owner of record.
5
Notify Your Insurance Carrier and Lender
Update your landlord insurance policy to name the trust as an additional insured. Notify your lender that the deed has been transferred. Federal law protects this transfer from triggering your mortgage’s due-on-sale clause, as long as you stay the trust’s beneficiary.
For a full look at the process itself, see How to Transfer Rental Properties into a Trust in Georgia. This deed transfer step is one part of a complete revocable living trust plan built for real estate investors. See Best Way to Hold Rental Properties in Georgia for Estate Planning for the full plan.
