It is one thing to set up a living trust, but it is another thing to fund it. Importantly, there is no point in doing one without the other. With that being said, please read on to discover the steps towards funding a living trust and how a seasoned Putnam County trusts attorney at the Law Office of Andres D. Gil, PLLC can walk you through it.
What types of assets can I use to fund a living trust?
You must assign assets to your living trust fund so that your designated beneficiaries can receive them at the time of your unfortunate passing, or another predetermined date disclosed within the terms and conditions of your trust document. You may have many assets at your disposable that are eligible to fund your living trust, and just some examples read as follows:
- Your safe deposit box(es).
- Your checking, savings, and certificate of deposit account(s).
- Your stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or money market funds.
- Your personal property or family heirlooms (i.e., jewelry, artwork, furniture, etc).
- Your real estate property or properties.
What are the proper steps for funding a living trust?
Properly funding your trust entails far more planning than just naming your different assets within the terms and conditions of your trust document.
Rather, it is done by legally changing the title of your assets from your name to the name of the living trust. Or, for your assets that cannot be legally owned by a living trust, it is done by legally changing the beneficiary designation of your assets from your loved ones’ names to the name of the living trust. Specifically, this is best for assets such as your retirement account, life insurance policy, and medical savings account. In this way, your assets may lawfully land into the lap of your assigned trustee at the time of your unfortunate death. From here, your trustee may still distribute these assets to the rightful beneficiaries as promised.
It is worth mentioning that retitling or changing beneficiary designations for your different assets may require different legal steps. What’s more, there may be varying perks and drawbacks in doing so for each one. For example, there may be certain penalties for your checking, savings, and certificate of deposit account(s) if you make an early withdrawal in an effort to transfer ownership over to the living trust. This is why it may be in your best interest to have an attorney assist you when making any of these major changes.
We strongly encourage you to retain the services of a competent Putnam County estate planning attorney. You may do so by scheduling an initial consultation with the Law Office of Andres D. Gil, PLLC today.