House in Living Trust after Death of Insured

August 11, 2016

Our insured was a widowed lady who died two years ago, and all of the household contents are still in the house and heating and air conditioning are maintained. The lawn is mowed every week including landscaping being maintained. The daughter checks on the house two times a week, and we have advised them to keep the water shut off. The homeowners policy is up for renewal and we are wondering whether or not to leave the property on the homeowners form? It is in an estate and trust and it may be another year or two before it is finalized. This company automatically includes the named insured for “Your Living Trust(s)” (also known as Inter Vivos Trusts) including any natural person named as executor, administrator, or trustee of “your” estate or living trust. We cannot find any exclusions in the policy in case of fire or tornado where it would exclude coverage. We think, since all the household contents are in the house, the house is not vacant but there are family members maintaining the premises every week.

Ohio Subscriber

A living trust is different than other trusts; with a living trust, the trustee is alive and then assets are transferred to the designated beneficiary upon the person's death. The house and the insurance policy need to match; you may need to add the HO 06 15 Trust endorsement in order to provide proper coverage. While it is probably fine on the homeowners form with the Trust endorsement, the best thing to do is to check with underwriting; if they are OK with it then you are good; if not they will advise you as to how they want it covered.