Trust Funding Worksheet

Real estate (retitled by recording a new deed), bank and brokerage accounts (retitled in the trust name), business interests, and taxable investment accounts are the most valuable assets to fund into a revocable living trust. Retitling removes them from probate. Your estate attorney will draft deeds and assist with account retitling letters. The process can take 2-12 weeks depending on how many accounts and properties are involved. This is general information, not legal advice.

IRAs, 401(k)s, and other qualified retirement accounts should never be retitled into a revocable trust - doing so triggers immediate income tax on the entire balance. Life insurance policies are usually best left with the insured as owner, with beneficiaries named directly (or an ILIT for estate-tax purposes). HSAs cannot be owned by a trust under IRS rules. Vehicles in many states create registration and insurance complications. Use beneficiary designations for these assets instead. Always confirm with a qualified estate attorney before retitling.

Retitling timelines vary by asset type. Real estate deeds typically record within 1-4 weeks once signed and submitted. Bank and brokerage account retitling usually takes 2-6 weeks and requires a meeting or forms submission with each institution. Investment accounts held at brokerages may require a medallion signature guarantee. Business interests involve operating agreement amendments and can take 4-8 weeks. Budget 2-3 months to fully fund a trust across multiple asset types. Prompt action matters because assets held outside the trust at death still go through probate.

Assets that were never retitled into the trust pass through probate, the court-supervised process for distributing a deceased person's estate. Probate can take 6-18 months, is public record, and typically costs 3-7% of the probate estate in attorney and court fees. A pour-over will can direct those assets into the trust at death, but they still go through probate first, so the delay and cost are not avoided. Funding the trust during your lifetime is the only way to actually avoid probate for those assets. This is educational, not legal advice.