Can you sell a house that's in a trust in Arkansas?

Yes. A house held in a trust can be listed and sold like any other Central Arkansas property — the difference is who signs and what the title company needs to verify. The trustee signs the listing agreement and the deed in their capacity as trustee, and Arkansas law (A.C.A. § 28-73-1013) lets them prove their authority with a certification of trust instead of handing over the entire trust document. If the person who created the trust has died, the successor trustee can usually sell without probate, but the title company will also want a certified death certificate and proof that the successor is properly in place.

By Amanda Galbraith | August 28, 2026

Here's the situation I hear most often: a parent set up a living trust years ago, put the house in it, and passed away. Now an adult child is the successor trustee, the house in Maumelle or west Little Rock is sitting empty, and nobody is sure whether they're allowed to sell it — or whether they have to go through probate first.

The short answer is that the trust is what lets you avoid probate. It's a feature, not an obstacle. But trust sales fail or stall for a specific set of reasons, and almost all of them come down to paperwork the title company needs before it will insure the transaction. Sorting that out before you list is the difference between a normal closing and a deal that dies two weeks in.

Let me walk you through it.

First: which kind of trust, and who has the power to sell?

Two questions decide almost everything else.

Is the trust revocable or irrevocable? A revocable living trust is the common one for Central Arkansas homeowners. While the person who created it (the settlor or grantor) is alive, they typically serve as their own trustee, keep full control, and can sell the house whenever they want. Functionally, selling looks identical to a normal sale — you just sign differently.

An irrevocable trust is a different animal. The terms are locked, the trustee may be someone else entirely, and the trust document controls what can and can't be done. Everything below still applies, but you'll want an attorney reading the document before you sign a listing agreement.

Who is the current acting trustee? This is the person with authority to sell — not the beneficiaries, and not "the family." If the original trustee has died or become incapacitated, the trust names a successor. That successor has to be formally in place before they can convey title.

You'll sign everything in your fiduciary capacity, not personally. That looks like:

Jane Smith, Trustee of the John Smith Revocable Living Trust dated March 4, 2009

It seems like a formality. It isn't. A deed signed the wrong way creates a title defect that has to be corrected later — usually at the worst possible moment.

What the title company will actually ask for

Almost every Central Arkansas sale closes through a title company rather than an attorney, and the title company's job is to confirm that whoever is signing has the authority to transfer good title. For a trust sale, expect them to request some combination of:

• A certification of trust. Under A.C.A. § 28-73-1013, a trustee can furnish this instead of the full trust instrument. It states that the trust exists and when it was executed, identifies the settlor and the currently acting trustee and their address, describes the trustee's powers, says whether the trust is revocable or irrevocable and who holds the power to revoke it, spells out how co-trustees sign, describes the manner of taking title to trust property, and confirms the trust hasn't been revoked, modified, or amended in a way that makes those statements wrong. Notably, it does not have to disclose who gets what. Your family's private financial arrangements stay private.
• Excerpts from the trust instrument. The title company is allowed to ask for the specific pages naming the trustee and granting the power to sell real property. That's normal — provide them rather than arguing about it.
• A certified death certificate, if the settlor or a prior trustee has died. Order more than you think you need. Between the title company, the lender, the county, and financial institutions, five to ten certified copies is a reasonable starting point.
• An affidavit of successor trustee or a recorded affidavit of death of trustee, depending on how the chain of title reads and what the title examiner requires.
• Photo ID for every trustee signing. If the trust has co-trustees, the certification needs to spell out whether they can sign individually or must sign together.

Two practical notes on that statute. First, it protects the buyer's side: someone who relies in good faith on a valid certification of trust, without knowing the statements in it are wrong, isn't liable for acting on it. That's precisely why title companies accept it — and why yours needs to be accurate and current. Second, it protects yours: a person who demands the full trust instrument in addition to a certification can be held liable for damages if a court finds they did so in bad faith. In practice you rarely need to raise that, but it's useful to know the law is on your side when someone asks for more than they need.

Start this before you list, not after you're under contract

This is the single piece of advice I'd give any trustee. Gathering trust documents takes days when everything is in a filing cabinet and weeks when it isn't — when the attorney who drafted it has retired, when there are amendments nobody can find, or when the successor trustee designation is ambiguous.

Contract timelines don't pause for that. Arkansas homes were sitting a median of 54 days on the market as of June 2026, and buyers financing at today's rates — the 30-year fixed averaged 6.66% the week of August 27, 2026, according to Freddie Mac — have rate locks that expire. A two-week document scramble can cost you the buyer.

Send everything to the title company for review the week you decide to sell. If there's a gap, you'll find out while you still have time to fix it.

The tax question almost everyone gets backwards

This is where I see real money won and lost, and it hinges on the revocable-versus-irrevocable distinction again.

Property in a revocable living trust gets a step-up in basis when the grantor dies. Under IRC § 1014, the cost basis resets to fair market value as of the date of death. If your parents bought in Maumelle in 1994 for $95,000 and the house is worth $310,000 today, the taxable gain on a sale shortly after death is measured from $310,000 — not $95,000. Sell near that value and the capital gains bill can be close to nothing.

Property in an irrevocable trust often does not. IRS Revenue Ruling 2023-2 confirmed that assets in an irrevocable grantor trust that are excluded from the grantor's taxable estate don't get the basis adjustment at death. The old, low basis carries over — and the gain can be enormous. Some irrevocable trusts are deliberately structured so the assets are included in the estate, preserving the step-up. Only the document and a CPA can tell you which one you have.

Two more Arkansas-specific points worth knowing:

• Arkansas has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. The federal estate and gift exclusion sits at $15 million per person for 2026 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, so the overwhelming majority of Central Arkansas estates owe no federal estate tax at all. For most families, the income-tax step-up matters far more than estate tax planning does.
• Arkansas real property transfer tax runs $3.30 per $1,000 of consideration on the sale itself — exactly $1,023 on a $310,000 sale. That's a normal line on the settlement statement. Who pays it is negotiable: the statute actually directs the grantee to complete the affidavit and affix the documentary stamps, but by longstanding Central Arkansas custom the seller pays it, and that's how most contracts here are written.

I'm a broker, not a CPA or an attorney. Run the basis question past a tax professional before the house goes under contract, because the answer sometimes changes whether the trust should sell the house or distribute it to the beneficiaries first and let them sell.

Where trust sales actually go sideways

A few recurring problems, and how to get ahead of them:

1. The house was never actually deeded into the trust. People create a trust and forget to fund it. If the deed on record at the Pulaski County Circuit Clerk's office still shows the individual as owner rather than the trust, the trust doesn't control the property — and you may be looking at probate after all. Pull the deed early. This one is worth checking today if you're a homeowner reading this.
2. Multiple beneficiaries who don't agree. The trustee has the legal authority to sell, but a trustee who lists a house over the loud objection of three siblings is inviting a fight. Get everyone in the same conversation about price and timeline before the sign goes in the yard.
3. The trustee sells to themselves or a relative below market. Trustees owe fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries. If a trustee wants to buy the property, or sell it to a family member, the pricing needs to be documented, defensible, and disclosed. Get an appraisal.
4. Nobody accounted for the empty-house problem. Vacant properties raise insurance and maintenance questions, and utilities left off in an Arkansas summer are how you find mold. Keep the power on.
5. The trustee assumes probate is required. It usually isn't. Trust property passes under the terms of the trust, outside probate. Confirm it, but don't default to assuming you need a court.

Pricing a trust-held home is the same exercise as any other sale — comparable sales, condition, and how much walks out the door at closing after payoff and costs. What's different is that the trustee is spending someone else's inheritance on every repair decision, so those choices need to be defensible. And the market won't rescue a bad decision: Little Rock's median sale price ran about $290,000 for the three months ending June 2026, up 9.4% year over year, while homes still took a median of roughly 52 days to sell. Values are up, but buyers are taking their time — which means a well-prepared, correctly priced home sells and an overpriced one waits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to go through probate to sell a house that's in a trust in Arkansas?

Generally, no. Property titled in the name of a trust passes under the trust's terms and is distributed by the trustee, which is the whole point of putting it there. Probate typically becomes an issue only if the house was never actually deeded into the trust, or if other estate assets require administration.

Can the trustee sell without the beneficiaries' permission?

Usually yes — the trustee holds the power to sell, subject to the terms of the trust and their fiduciary duty to act in the beneficiaries' interest. But "can" and "should" are different. Documented communication with beneficiaries about price, offers, and timing prevents the disputes that turn a clean sale into litigation.

What is a certification of trust, and why won't the title company just take the whole trust?

A certification of trust is a short sworn summary, authorized by A.C.A. § 28-73-1013, that proves the trust exists and that you have the power to sell without revealing the trust's dispositive terms. It protects your family's privacy while giving the title company what it needs. The title company can still request the excerpts naming the trustee and granting the power to act.

Will we owe capital gains tax if we sell the house right after our parent dies?

If the home was in a revocable living trust, it receives a step-up in basis to fair market value at the date of death, so a sale near that value often produces little or no taxable gain. Property in an irrevocable trust excluded from the grantor's estate generally does not get that step-up, per IRS Revenue Ruling 2023-2. Confirm which applies with a CPA before you list.

Should I put my Arkansas home into a trust before I sell it?

Almost never for the sale itself — a trust doesn't reduce transfer tax, commissions, or capital gains on a sale during your lifetime, and adding one mid-transaction just adds paperwork. Trusts earn their keep as estate planning tools, letting your heirs avoid probate later. If that's the goal, talk to an Arkansas estate planning attorney, not a title company.

The takeaway

A trust doesn't stop you from selling — it just changes who signs and what has to be verified first. Get the certification of trust, the death certificate, and the successor trustee documentation in front of a title company before you list, confirm the basis question with a CPA, and the rest of the sale looks like any other Central Arkansas closing.

If you're a trustee trying to figure out what this house is worth and what the sale would actually net the beneficiaries, that's a conversation I have often, and I'm glad to walk you through it. You can also download my free Central Arkansas Home Sellers Guide for the full pre-listing checklist.

About Amanda Galbraith
Amanda Galbraith is a residential real estate agent serving the greater Little Rock area. She specializes in helping first-time sellers navigate the process from pricing to closing, as well as investors looking to increase their portfolio. Connect with Amanda at www.amandagalbraith.ar-property.com.

Arkansas Property Management & Real Estate | www.ar-property.com

This article is general information for Central Arkansas homeowners and is not legal or tax advice. Amanda Galbraith is a licensed Arkansas real estate broker, not an attorney or CPA. Trust terms vary — consult an Arkansas estate planning attorney and a tax professional about your specific situation.