California Lender for loans to Irrevocable Trusts

Loans to Irrevocable Trusts

When it comes time to distribute the assets of an irrevocable trust, a trust loan may be needed if an equal distribution is required or desired. A trust loan provides the trust with liquidity; supplying cash so that assets do not need to be sold off or converted to cash. The trust loan is a mortgage placed against a piece of real estate held in the trust. Unlike a traditional mortgage, a trust mortgage loan is typically a short term loan. Once the assets of the trust are distributed, the beneficiary who inherited the real estate with the trust mortgage placed on it would refinance the trust mortgage with a conventional mortgage or payoff the mortgage.

Why Is An Equal Distribution Important?

When it comes to a trust distribution, an equal distribution can be important for a variety of reasons. Often times there is language in the trust that requires an equal distribution of the assets in the trust be made to beneficiaries. If the trust only contained cash, it would be easy to accomplish this. Unfortunately, most trusts that contain real estate do not have cash or other assets sufficient to create an equal distribution. In this situation, either the real estate must be sold or a mortgage must be taken out on the real estate to infuse the trust with cash. A trust loan is almost always the least expensive of the two options. Sometimes, more importantly, it also allows a beneficiary to keep a family home in the family.

Another important reason for the equal distribution of a trust is to meet the requirements of California Proposition 58. Prop 58 allows a child who is inheriting a home from a parent to avoid property tax reassessment on that home. This passes the low proposition 13 protected tax base from a parent to a child. Often times when the home is held in a trust, an equal distribution is required if a Proposition 58 exclusion from reassessment is to be granted by the County Tax Assessors office. In fact, the majority of trust loans that we provide are specifically for this reason. Our clients save on average over six thousand dollars per year in property tax savings by avoiding reassessment.

Do All Lenders Loan To Irrevocable Trusts?

No, in fact very few lenders are willing to lend to a trust, let alone an irrevocable trust. Typically when a home is held in a trust, a conventional lender will require that the property first be removed from the trust before they will lend on it. When a trust is revocable, this may not be an issue since the home can be added back into to trust once the mortgage process has been completed. Once the trust becomes irrevocable, often times the ability to do so is no longer possible and a lender who can lend to Irrevocable Trusts will be required.

When the requirements of Proposition 58 need to be considered, the situation can become even more complicated. Proposition 58 requires that the acquiring beneficiary of the real estate makes no personal guarantee on the trust loan or trust mortgage.  Doing so would be perceived as a sibling to sibling transfer of real estate as opposed to a parent to child transfer and would likely jeopardize the exclusion from property reassessment. Commercial Loan Corporation is one of the only lenders in California that provides Irrevocable Trust Loans with no personal guarantee requirements. We work directly with Trust Administrators, Trustees, Beneficiaries, Attorneys and Property Tax Consultants. If you require a Trust & Estate Attorney or Property Tax Consultant to assist you with Proposition 58, we can refer you to an expert to assist you.

Is A Trust Loan Less Expensive Than Selling A Home?

Yes, in almost all cases a trust loan is far less expensive than selling a home. Additionally a trust loan takes less time to complete than it takes to sell a home. We can complete a trust loan in as little as 10 business days. That means beneficiaries can get more money and get their funds more quickly. When you consider the ability to take advantage of the Proposition 58’s exclusion from reassessment, the savings grow even further.

We specialize in loans to Irrevocable Trusts. If you or a client are in need of a trust loan or have questions about loans to an irrevocable trust, please call us at 877-464-1066. We will provide you with a free benefit analysis and answer any question you may have.