Putting Your Assets Into Your Trust

Your trust documents and the ownership of your assets need to work together.

A signed living trust is an important part of a plan, but it does not automatically change the title to your home or every account you own. “Funding” means taking the appropriate steps to put assets under the trust’s ownership or otherwise coordinate them with the plan.

Transferring a California home into a trust

The current deed shows how the property is owned. David reviews that ownership and prepares an appropriate trust transfer deed within the agreed scope. We submit the deeds we prepare for county recording on your behalf, rather than leaving you to navigate recording alone.

Tell us about co-owners, mortgages, a recent refinance, or property in another state. Those details affect the review and the work required. Out-of-state property may require coordination with a professional authorized in that state.

Financial accounts and beneficiary designations

Different assets need different treatment. A bank or investment institution may require its own forms to change account ownership. Other assets pass under beneficiary designations. Do not assume that every account should be retitled in the same way; review the plan before making changes.

A practical funding checklist

• Collect the current deed for each property.
• List your accounts and how they are owned, without sending account numbers in an initial inquiry.
• Review which transfers the firm will handle and which steps you will complete with your financial institutions.
• Keep recorded deeds and confirmation of completed account changes with your estate-planning records.
• Revisit ownership when you buy a property or refinance.

What if an asset is overlooked?

A pour-over will can serve as a backup, but it does not itself avoid probate for an asset left outside the trust. After an owner has died, the available procedure depends on the documents and ownership history. Learn about reviewing property left outside a trust.

For broader background, the California Courts guide to transfers without formal probate explains why ownership and beneficiary arrangements matter.

By David F. Calkins, California attorney · General planning information

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