what your CPA told you seems correct
For simplification purposes, assume the trust allows the trustee full discretion.
A local CPA has advised that because the property is still in my father's trust , we would lose the passive loss carry forward when transferred into our names
when he died and you became the beneficiaries of the trust, it ceased to be a grantor trust. the returns filed post-mortem had a box checked decedent's estate and possibly later - simple or complex trust rather than grantor type trust. if it was still a grantor trust then the PALs would pass out to the beneficiaries and not be retained by the trust. however, there's always the possibility the returns were incorrect. the trust may give you the power to transfer property into it but if it's your own property and since you are the trustee and beneficiary it would seem that under the tax laws it would again meet the definition of being a grantor trust which would likely result in the PAL on the old property being lost.
since you doubt what your CPA is telling you, consult with a lawyer. the problem this forum has is that we can't see the trust document and what we offer does not constitute legal advice.
with passive real estate, the passive income and losses are netted and then subject to the PAL limitation. but this is at the 1040 level.
