Your family home is usually the largest asset in your estate. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the median value of owner-occupied homes in Georgia between 2019 and 2023 was $272,900. That figure shows why many families treat the home as both a financial investment and a part of their legacy.
When you place your home in a trust, you decide in advance who will receive it and under what conditions. For real estate, this step requires recording a new deed in the county’s land records showing the trust as the owner. After you pass away, the successor trustee named in the document transfers the property to your beneficiaries without going through the probate process first. In this guide, we’ll explain what a trust is, how placing your home in one works, and the key benefits it offers for you and your family.
What Is a Trust and How Does It Work?
A trust is an estate planning arrangement that allows you, as the grantor (trust maker), to transfer ownership of property to a trustee who manages it for your beneficiaries. There are two primary types in estate planning, both of which must be created through a written document, signed by the grantor, and funded by transferring property into the trust’s name.
- Revocable Living Trust: If you place your Georgia home or any other real estate in a revocable living trust, you still hold the trustee role, and that gives you full control over trust assets. You can also amend or cancel the document at any point during your lifetime.
- Irrevocable Trust: With an irrevocable trust, you give up the right to change the terms once the property is transferred. At the same time, this arrangement can provide certain tax and asset protection advantages. For example, irrevocable trusts used for Medicaid eligibility must generally be created, and transfers completed, at least five years before applying for benefits to avoid disqualification under the federal “lookback” rule.
When a living trust is properly funded, assets titled in it are not considered part of your probate estate. For example, if your home is in a trust, the successor trustee can transfer the property directly to your beneficiaries after your death without probate proceedings. This probate avoidance is one of the main reasons many Georgia homeowners choose a living trust for real estate.
Should Your Home Go in a Revocable or Irrevocable Trust?
A revocable living trust gives you the ability to make changes during your lifetime. You can amend the document to add or remove beneficiaries, change the successor trustee, or adjust instructions about how the home should be transferred. If you decide to move, you can sell the property and remove it from the trust, or you can transfer your new home into the trust with a fresh deed.
This flexibility is important in estate planning because your circumstances can change. For example, you may want to update your living trust if you refinance your mortgage, if a beneficiary marries or has children, or if you purchase another property. In each case, you can revise the trust without going through court, and the updated terms guide the trustee after your death.
Irrevocable trusts work differently in estate planning. Once you transfer property into an irrevocable trust, you give up the ability to change the terms or take the trust assets back. Homeowners sometimes use irrevocable living trusts for purposes such as Medicaid long-term care planning or creditor protection, but those trusts limit control. For most Georgia homeowners, a revocable living trust is the preferred estate planning tool for a primary residence because it keeps you in control during life while still avoiding probate at death.
Avoiding Probate in Georgia
Probate is the court process that transfers property from a deceased person’s estate to their heirs or beneficiaries. In Georgia, probate can easily take more than a year, depending on the size of the estate and whether disputes arise. Court filing fees, executor’s fees, and attorney’s fees add costs that reduce the value passed on to your heirs.
As we explained earlier, when you place your home in a living trust, the property is no longer part of your probate estate. Instead, it belongs to the trust, and the successor trustee transfers it directly to the beneficiaries you named. For example, if your daughter is listed as a beneficiary, the successor trustee records a new deed that puts the home in her name without filing probate paperwork.
Avoiding probate also preserves privacy. Probate records in Georgia are public, which means anyone can see who inherited your property and how much it was worth. A trust keeps those transfers private, because only the trustee and beneficiaries see the trust document. By avoiding probate, you save your family time, reduce expenses, and keep sensitive information out of public records.
With a Revocable Trust, You Maintain Control Over the Property
If you pass without a will or trust in Georgia, the probate court applies intestacy law to your estate. Under these rules, a surviving spouse and children share the estate, with the spouse guaranteed at least one-third. If you leave no spouse or children, the estate passes to parents, then siblings, and then more distant relatives in a set order. As you can imagine, this probably doesn’t reflect what you would have wanted.
By creating a revocable living trust and transferring the deed of your home into it, you write your own instructions that the trustee must follow. Transferring an owner-occupied residence into a revocable inter vivos trust generally does not trigger a due-on-sale clause under the federal Garn-St. Germain Act (12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d)(8)), so long as the borrower remains a beneficiary and continues to occupy the property.
For example, you can order the trustee to transfer the home to one child immediately, to hold it until a child turns 21, or to sell it and split the proceeds equally among all surviving family members. You know your family dynamics better than anyone, and a living trust gives you the opportunity to pass on the home in a way that makes the most sense for everyone.
Because the trust owns the home and the instructions are legally binding, the successor trustee will carry out the transfer exactly as you’ve specified. This gives your family more certainty about what will happen with the property and spares them from second-guessing your wishes. The result is a smoother transition that supports family harmony.
Protecting Your Home During Incapacity
If you become incapacitated without a revocable living trust or a durable power of attorney in place, the probate court may appoint a guardian or conservator to manage your property. That process involves a petition, a hearing, and continuing court supervision, which adds cost and puts decision-making in the hands of someone chosen by the court. For example, if you suffer a stroke and can’t sign legal documents, the court decides who will handle your home unless you already have those documents in place.
When you transfer your home into a revocable living trust, you name a successor trustee who automatically takes over if you can’t act. Because the home is titled in the trust, the successor trustee can pay property taxes, maintain insurance, or sell the home if needed without a guardianship case. This approach ensures your property is managed according to your instructions, rather than delayed by a court proceeding.
Tax Advantages and Financial Planning
Georgia does not impose a state estate or inheritance tax. At the federal level, estates valued under a certain amount (which changes every year) are exempt from estate tax: since this amount is in the millions, nearly all Georgia estates that include a home will not owe federal estate taxes. Even without tax liability, transferring your home into a living trust provides financial benefits.
For example, if your home passes through probate, your heirs may have to pay attorney’s fees, court filing fees, and executor’s commissions, all of which reduce the value of the property or sale proceeds they receive. By making the home a trust asset, you bypass probate and preserve that value for your beneficiaries.
Property tax savings also remain available when you move a home into a revocable living trust. Georgia’s homestead exemption, which reduces the taxable value of an owner-occupied home, still applies if you remain the beneficiary and continue living in the property. In some counties, such as Fulton, you may need to re-file your exemption application or submit a trust affidavit or certification of trust under O.C.G.A. § 53-12-280 to confirm eligibility for the homestead exemption. This ensures you keep your property tax savings while also securing the estate planning advantages of the living trust.
Questions? Talk to an Atlanta Estate Planning Lawyer Today
Placing your Georgia home in a revocable living trust lets you decide how it will be managed during your life and transferred after your death. You avoid probate delays, reduce costs, plan for incapacity, and ensure that property tax benefits, such as the homestead exemption, remain in place.
At Brightside Lawyers, we work with Georgia families every day to avoid those problems. We prepare the revocable trust language, file the deeds with the county, and make sure your property transfers are legally enforceable. We also review your estate plan so that your will, power of attorney designations, and living trust all operate together.
By handling these steps for you, our trust attorneys help you keep control of your home today while arranging a smooth transfer for your family tomorrow. To schedule a consultation with a Georgia trust and estate planning attorney, call our law office at (404) 492-9559.
Related: