There is no court case. The home is in a trust, or passed by a transfer-on-death deed. What changes?

A home held in a trust

The trust owns the home, so the trustee signs the listing and the contract under the trust's own paperwork. There is no petition and no wait for letters. The closing will want the trust document, or a certification of it, and proof of who the current trustee is.

A transfer-on-death deed

New York's transfer-on-death deed law took effect on July 19, 2024. A home passed this way goes to the named beneficiary on the owner's death without a court case, and that beneficiary sells it as the owner. A transfer-on-death deed covers real property, so it applies to a house or condo; co-op shares are not real property and pass another way.

What does not change

• The estate tax lien. Whether a release (Form ET-117) is needed for a home held this way is a question for the estate's attorney or CPA; the answer depends on how the home was held. Ask before the contract, not after.
• The co-op board, for shares held in trust. The building still has to approve the buyer, on the Local Law 58 clock for applications from July 28, 2026.
• The date-of-death value. The CPA will still want it. Request it here.
• Clearing, pricing and selling. Same work, same market, and a trustee owes the beneficiaries the same care an executor owes the heirs.

One thing worth knowing: homes that pass by trust or transfer-on-death deed never appear in a court file. If you have been getting letters from investors, it is because of the death notice or the deed, not because the court published anything.