How To Fund A Revocable Trust
One of the main reasons people create revocable trusts is to help their loved ones avoid the probate process when they pass away. Probate is a time-consuming and expensive process and many people want to protect their loved ones from it. Revocable trusts are one of the best ways to do this, but if trusts are not properly funded, they will not serve any purpose. Funding a trust is sometimes a tedious process but still, it is an important one to ensure your trust functions the way you intended.
What is Trust Funding?
Trust funding simply refers to the process of transferring assets currently in your name to the name of the trust. This typically requires you to transfer the titles of those assets and remove your name to reflect the name of the trust. You and your spouse may retitle jointly owned assets to a joint trust, or you can place the property into your individual trusts in equal or unequal portions.
Property to Place in a Trust
There are many different types of assets you can place into a trust. The most common of these include:
- Real estate: Real estate is known as ‘real property’ in Florida and it is one of the easiest assets to place into a revocable trust. A quitclaim deed is usually all that is necessary, but the deed must be properly prepared and recorded in the county where the real estate is located.
- Businesses: Your trust planning lawyer can transfer a business into your revocable trust by preparing a simple assignment. If your shares or portion of a business have restrictions on transfers, your lawyer can help you obtain permission to allow the assignment to the trust.
- Personal property: Some of the most common types of personal property transferred to trusts includes household goods, boats and watercraft, motor vehicles, pictures, china, silverware, jewelry, and clothing.
- Bank accounts: A revocable trust is one way to transfer a savings or checking account to your loved ones upon your death. Each financial institution has their own rules for this and while they are sometimes simple, they can also be quite complex. You can also create a payable-on-death beneficiary who will automatically receive the funds when you pass away.
- Life insurance: You can designate the revocable trust as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy. Upon your passing, the insurer will then pay the proceeds to the successor trustee named on the trust. The successor trustee will distribute the proceeds according to the instructions within the trust.
Our Trust Planning Lawyer in St. Petersburg Can Help with Funding
Funding a trust sounds fairly straightforward but if proper procedures are not followed and rules are not adhered to, your trust may not provide the protection you had hoped for. At Legacy Protection Lawyers, LLP, our St. Petersburg trust planning lawyer can ensure your trust is properly funded and make things easier for you and your family. Call us today at 727-471-5868 or contact us online to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced attorneys and to learn more.
Source:
leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0736/0736.html
