Funding a Trust

Why Should My Trust own all Property that I Want My Trustee to Control in The Future?

To be effective a trust needs to own property that has a title. Otherwise it is simply an expensive will. Consider this. If you owned a company, and the company had a bank account in its name, if something happened to you as CEO and President, but you appointed another to act on your behalf, the bank would allow the new CEO to operate the bank account on proof that they are the new CEO right! The same is true with a trust.

If the trust owns your house in title for instance, and something happens to you, your trustee simply stands in your shoes as the CEO and President of the trust. There is no Court interference, time delay or attorney fees and your company continues to act as you direct it.

If however, your trust did not have a bank account in its name, instead it was an account in your personal name, how does someone gain control of your personal account on your death? They have to hire an attorney of course, and petition the Court for that person to gain access to the account. This is called PROBATE. This is time consuming and costly. Just as you would not have a right, without proof, to control your neighbors bank account, your trustee would not have the right to control your personal accounts, unless ordered by a Court after notice to all your relatives, evaluation of your will, review of your trust and a hearing confirming, to determine if your intent was that this trustee control the account. That hearing has to be conducted on any assets that are not a part of your trust at your death.

To avoid such expense and complication, all assets you own should be made a part of the trust.

Here is a list of common examples:

• Your house and vacation home
• Land and commercial property
• Corporate stock
• Stock holding accounts.
• Bank Accounts.
• Certain retirement accounts and annuities (Consult an attorney)
• Cars
• Boats
• Significant holdings of artwork or jewelry
• Corporate S Corporation Stock (See special link)
• Other assets that have title not mentioned.

Always transfer all title property that you want controlled by the Trustee to the Trust you create. This is the number one reason most ‘Cheap” trusts fail. The document is created but the assets are not transferred or worse, not transferred properly. Then the document simply becomes a will, and is of little value for what you paid for it.

If you have a trust and have not funded it, or you want to consult us on the merits of a trust, call 1 888 752-7474 or Contact Us online.