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By Jason Heath, CFP on December 18, 2025
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

By Jason Heath, CFP on December 18, 2025
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Silvana is wondering if a trust for her home could save taxes or help with estate planning. Here’s what she needs to know before deciding.

Despite this crazy market, I was able to sell my house. The price was on the lower side but still able to make some profit that could allow me to live more comfortably.

I am now in the process of looking for a much smaller house, and wonder if you could give me some guidance on how to buy it under a “Trust”, and not under my own name. I would like to minimize the tax implications from the Estate in the event that something happens to me and my kids get stuck with taxes.

—Silvana

Congratulations on your home sale, Silvana. A downsize can help supplement a retiree’s savings. Your question about using a trust to buy a new home is not a simple yes or no answer.

A trust is a legal arrangement where a person called the settlor transfers assets to a trustee to manage for beneficiaries, based on pre-determined rules. The assets are typically investments, real estate, or a business.

There are two main types of trusts: an “inter vivos” (living) trust, created while the settlor is alive, and a “testamentary” trust, which is written into a will, which takes effect after death.

Related reading: The difference between wills and living trusts

Trusts can........

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