A major purpose of a revocable living trust is to hold title to your property so that it will pass to your beneficiaries without having to go through an expensive probate proceeding.
“Funding” a trust is the term used for putting assets in your name as trustee, after you’ve signed the trust.
When I do a trust-based estate plan, I make sure to prepare deeds for any real property that will go into the trust. This is part of “funding.”
What about a client’s bank accounts and assets he or she may acquire once she or he has left my office?
I provide instructions to the client on how bank and brokerage accounts should be titled and how any future real property should be titled. It is the client’s responsibility to keep the trust fully “funded.”
If you have a trust-based estate plan and you’re confused about whether it’s fully “funded,” let’s make an appointment to review the funding of your trust, looking at bank statements and real property deeds to make sure they’re in your name as trustee.
