In every package
Disclosures that establish both parties understood the deal, the operative instruments that create the trust and move title, and the administrative documents the deal needs to function afterwards.
| Document | How it is executed | Recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement Agreement and Scope-of-Service Disclosure Defines what this company does and does not do, and states plainly that preparing documents is not the practice of law and does not substitute for your own attorney. |
Electronic signature | Not recorded |
| Consent to Electronic Records and Signatures The federal ESIGN Act requires affirmative consent to transact electronically, disclosure of the right to withdraw that consent, and notice of the hardware and software needed to access the records. |
Electronic signature | Not recorded |
| Due-on-Sale Risk Disclosure and Acknowledgment States in plain language that the lender can call the entire loan due when it learns of the transfer, that a land trust does not prevent this, and that the seller stays legally liable on the note. |
Electronic signature | Not recorded |
| Purchase and Sale Agreement (Subject-To Existing Financing) The contract itself: price, what debt the buyer takes over, who pays what, and when. |
Electronic signature | Not recorded |
| Land Trust Agreement Creates the trust. The seller is the settlor and, at this moment, the sole beneficiary — which is what makes the transfer into the trust defensible under the federal inter vivos trust exemption. |
E-signed with remote online notarization | Not recorded |
| Acceptance of Trusteeship A trust has no trustee until someone accepts the office in writing. |
E-signed with remote online notarization | Not recorded |
| Designation of Successor Trustee Names who takes over if the trustee dies, resigns, or becomes unable to serve. |
Electronic signature | Not recorded |
| Certificate of Trust Proves the trust exists and the trustee has power to act, without disclosing the beneficiaries. This is what you hand a title company or bank instead of the trust agreement itself. |
E-signed with remote online notarization | Recorded |
| Special Warranty Deed to Trustee Moves legal title from the seller to the trustee. This is the only document in the set that gets recorded in the public land records, which is what keeps the rest of the arrangement private. |
E-signed with remote online notarization | Recorded |
| PTAX-203 Real Estate Transfer Declaration Illinois will not record the deed without this form accompanying it. |
Signed on paper | Recorded |
| Assignment of Beneficial Interest Transfers the economic ownership of the trust from the seller to the buyer. This document is never recorded, which is why the buyer's name does not appear in the public record. |
E-signed with remote online notarization | Not recorded |
| Limited Power of Attorney (Loan Servicing) Lets the buyer deal with the loan servicer — request payoffs, resolve escrow, handle insurance — without the seller having to be on every call. Strictly limited to this one loan. |
E-signed with remote online notarization | Not recorded |
| Third-Party Authorization to Release Loan Information (Lien 1) Servicers will not speak to anyone but the borrower without this on file. |
Electronic signature | Not recorded |
| Hazard Insurance Endorsement Instructions Tells the insurance agent exactly how to name the trustee and keep the lender as mortgagee. Skipping this is how a claim gets denied after a fire. |
No signature — instruction letter | Not recorded |
| Loan Servicing Setup Instructions Sets up the third-party servicer so both sides get independent proof every payment was made. |
No signature — instruction letter | Not recorded |
| Closing Statement The final accounting of who paid what to whom. |
Electronic signature | Not recorded |
| Recording Instructions and Cover Sheet Step-by-step instructions for getting the deed on record at the County Recorder, including current fees and any required cover sheet. |
No signature — instruction letter | Not recorded |
Where the deal calls for it
Spousal joinder appears where homestead or community property rules require a non-title spouse to join — which is more often than people expect. Carryback documents appear only where the seller is financing part of the price.
| Document | How it is executed | Recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Spousal Joinder and Waiver of Homestead Illinois requires a spouse to join in conveying the property even when they are not on title. Without this the deed is defective. |
E-signed with remote online notarization | Recorded |
| Form W-9 for the Trust The trust needs its own taxpayer identification number to hold title and open accounts. |
Electronic signature | Not recorded |
| Promissory Note (Seller Carryback) The buyer's written promise to repay the portion of the price the seller is financing. |
Electronic signature | Not recorded |
| Deed of Trust Securing Carryback Note Secures the carryback note against the property so the seller can foreclose if the buyer stops paying. Recording this does put a second lien on the public record. |
E-signed with remote online notarization | Recorded |
| Post-Closing Occupancy Agreement Sets the terms for the seller staying in the house after closing — rent, how long, and what happens if they do not leave. Note that keeping the seller in possession also weakens the buyer's position on occupancy. |
Electronic signature | Not recorded |
Only some of it reaches the recorder
The deed to the trustee is recorded. The trust agreement generally is not — keeping the terms and the beneficiaries off the public record is much of the reason the structure exists — which is why a certificate of trust proves the trustee's authority without exposing what the trust says.
The assignment of beneficial interest is typically not recorded either, because in most states that interest is personal property rather than an interest in real estate. Whether that holds in your state is checked when your file is priced.
Every template is attorney-reviewed
The templates encode the correct structure, merge fields, signature topology, and notarial blocks for the state your property sits in. The operative language is drafted and adopted by counsel, and the document compiler will not produce an instrument from a template that has not been through that review.