Residential Real Estate Disclosures Must Be Made in Sale to Living Trust
Lawyer Blog Post 2010/12/07 23:02
December 7, 2010
I.C. Chapter 32-21-5 abrogates the common law rule of caveat emptor with regard to representations made in a statutorily required Sales Disclosure Form. Yesterday, the Court addressed a related issue in Rex Breeden Revocable Trust v. Hoffmeister-Repp, Case No. 03A04-1003-CT-18 -- whether these rules apply to any residential real estate sale to a living trust. The Court found the statute ambiguous and limited its language to sales from one person to that person's own living trust.
In this case, a homeowner sold a home to a buyer. However, the buyer did not buy the property directly; rather, he purchased it using a living trust. A dispute arose concerning whether the seller had made misrepresentations about the residence and the buyers eventually brought suit. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment and the trial court granted the seller's motion. The buyers appealed.
At issue was whether I.C. Chapter 32-21-5 applied to the sale. I.C. § 32-21-5-1(b)(9) states that this Chapter does not apply to "[t]ransfers to a living trust." The buyer argued that this language clearly exempted this sale from the Act. The seller argued that this could be illogical. The Court found this language ambiguous -- arguably because the parties disagreed over its interpretation.
http://indianalawupdate.com/entry/Residential-Real-Estate-Disclosures-Must-Be-Made-in-Sale-to-Living-Trust
I.C. Chapter 32-21-5 abrogates the common law rule of caveat emptor with regard to representations made in a statutorily required Sales Disclosure Form. Yesterday, the Court addressed a related issue in Rex Breeden Revocable Trust v. Hoffmeister-Repp, Case No. 03A04-1003-CT-18 -- whether these rules apply to any residential real estate sale to a living trust. The Court found the statute ambiguous and limited its language to sales from one person to that person's own living trust.
In this case, a homeowner sold a home to a buyer. However, the buyer did not buy the property directly; rather, he purchased it using a living trust. A dispute arose concerning whether the seller had made misrepresentations about the residence and the buyers eventually brought suit. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment and the trial court granted the seller's motion. The buyers appealed.
At issue was whether I.C. Chapter 32-21-5 applied to the sale. I.C. § 32-21-5-1(b)(9) states that this Chapter does not apply to "[t]ransfers to a living trust." The buyer argued that this language clearly exempted this sale from the Act. The seller argued that this could be illogical. The Court found this language ambiguous -- arguably because the parties disagreed over its interpretation.
http://indianalawupdate.com/entry/Residential-Real-Estate-Disclosures-Must-Be-Made-in-Sale-to-Living-Trust
