Can a Trust own property?

[Colonel_Buck]

I'm in the process of trying to match borrower name from two mortgage loan systems and am starting to see names like "The John Doe Revocable Trust" and "William & Jane Smith Trust & Trustee" and Living Trust and Revocable Living Trust and Attorney in Fact. Who is the owner in these cases? The trust or the executor of the trust or the people that make up the trust?

[Pantherphil]

In my state the Trustees named in the Trust Agreement hold the title to real property for the benefit of the beneficiaries. A "trust" is not considered to be a separate legal entity which can hold title to property or sue or be sued in the name of the trust. The proper procedure, per our Supreme Court, is to name the Trustees in their capacity as Trustees. But because there are lots of folks who think that a trust is a legal entity similar to a corporation or limited liability company that has the right to hold title to property and sue or be sued in the corporate name, there is a statute in our state which indicates that if you record a deed to a named Trust, it will be construed as a deed issued to the Trustees of the Trust. All very semantical and often confusing..

[Tax Man]

the trustee is the legal owner of the trust property held for the benefit of the trust beneficiaries.

an executor is a person or entity in charge of administering a deceased person's probate estate. in some states, the "executor" is called a "personal representative."

both a trustee and an executor are considered a "fiduciary" with duties to hold legal title to the real property in accordance with governing documents.

in the case of a trustee, the governing document is a trust agreement. with an executor, its a will. or in some cases, you'll see testamentary trusts created under a will.

you might even see a combination of names associated with the property at certain points. For instance, an executor might deed property to the trustee pursuant to a "pour-over" clause in a will.

the attorney-in-fact or agent might be involved by transferring the property on behalf of an individual to a trust, depending on the terms of the attorney-in-fact's governing document, the "power of attorney." however, you shouldn't see any examples of an attorney-in-fact transferring property for a decedent.

[fortinbras]

A trust can be owner of real and personal property.
A trust is a corporate body and, if it must litigate in court, it must be represented by a member of the bar, not a pro se - even if the trust has only one trustee.

[Colonel_Buck]

OK, thanks guys. Most of the differences I'm seeing are of the "John R Smith" vs. "John R. Smith" variety that can be handled by the program code. But these "trust" accounts will all require some kind of manual intervention. Groan ...