Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: grant deeds

Howdy:

A grant deed is title to the property.

A deed of trust is money.

If you borrowed to buy the property, you received both when you bought it.

The lawyer preparing the trust should do the deeds as part of the trust; although many do them for an extra charge. I don't prepare unfunded trusts, so the deeds are included. I would guess it's different with your lawyer.

If you websearch for "california grant deed," you'll probably find the form online. Or, a local escrow company can prepare them for you .. expect a charge of about $100.

Shop around for this. It's a pretty routine duty.

If you still have questions, post again.

Re: grant deeds

You say a 'firm' is preparing your trust. I hope it is a law firm. If so, you should expect better information from them; it shouldn't be necessary to turn to outsiders for basic assistance you're already paying for.

Property is conveyed from the buyer to the seller by grant deed (or, occasionally, quitclaim deed). Your grant deeds and quitclaim deeds are the deeds by which you acquired ownership of properties acquired by private purchase. They would have the buyer's and seller's names prominently mentioned on them. You may also have property acquired by inheritance, foreclosure, tax-sale purchase, etc., where the deed would be something other than a grant deed.

In addition to the various deeds by which you acquire property, you have 'deeds of trust' or 'trust deeds,' which are used to finance or refinance property. A trust deed is a way to give a lender security for a loan. A trust deed gives a third party (the trustee) the power to foreclose and sell the entrusted property if the note is not paid according to its terms.

If you are having a trust prepared for estate-planning or similar purposes, the attorney preparing it will eventually want copies of all deeds affecting property you want to put into your trust, not just grand deeds but trust deeds as well.