More on Funding Your Trust

We’ve written and spoken about the need to complete funding of your trust. It’s not enough to just sign a revocable living trust document — no matter how beautiful and effective it might be. Your work is not done until (in most cases) nearly all of your assets are retitled into the trust’s name. Funding your trust takes time, patience and diligence. We can help with, but not complete, most of it. You need to visit your banker, your stockbroker or investment advisor, and your retirement plan administrator. Normally that means an actual, physical visit. Why? Because the key to avoiding probate (and that’s probably why you signed your revocable living trust in the first place) is to complete the funding of your trust. If you don’t complete this step your estate will probably have to be probated at your death. And that was what you were trying to avoid.