Verify Ownership

• In order to use a warranty deed to convey property, the issuer must have the express authority to do so. This means that a trust must be the recorded owner of the property being transferred to use a warranty deed. To verify ownership, you should contact your local title company and order a property profile to verify the current title vesting on the property being conveyed. A grant deed should have been issued to the trust giving the trust ownership.
  
  

Determine the Executor

• The executor of a trust is the person named in the trust as having authority to "execute" legal documents on behalf of the trust. The trust documents should name the person who is executor. In family trusts, the executor is usually the individual who owns the trust or an attorney who is authorized to act on behalf of the trust.
  
  

Execute the Warranty Deed

• When a trust uses a warranty deed to convey title, the executor signs the deed. For example, if John Smith is the executor of the John Smith Living Trust, when he signs the warranty deed, it should read: "John Smith, executor of the John Smith Living Trust does hereby grant the following property known as (enter the address of the property being conveyed)."
  
  

Considerations

• A warranty deed carries an express and implied promise that the entity issuing the deed has the authority to do so. Before signing a warranty deed, you should verify with an attorney that the trust has the legal capacity to do so and that the person signing on behalf of the trust is also properly authorized to sign it.