Things To Know About Funding A Revocable Trust

People draft revocable trusts for a number of reasons. Trusts are legal documents that can hold the title to property. Trusts are separate legal entities from the person who creates it and so, they are not subject to the probate process after a person passes away. The person who creates the trust is typically the trustee during their lifetime, meaning they can manage and control the property within the trust. Upon their death, the successor trustee they named will then take over management and control of the property within the trust.

Trusts can only fulfill their purpose if they are properly funded. Below, our Daytona Beach trusts lawyer explains more about funding these legal tools.

How to Fund a Trust 

When you fund a trust, you place property into it. This means you must transfer assets from your name into the name of the trust. In most cases, this means you must retitle the assets from your name into the name of the trust. Spouses can retitle co-owned property into a joint trust, or property can be placed into a trust individually in equal or unequal shares.

Assets Used to Fund a Revocable Trust 

There are many different types of property that you can place into a trust. The most common types of assets used to fund revocable trusts are as follows:

• Real estate: In Florida real estate is known as ‘real property’ and it is among the easiest types of property to place into a trust. Typically, this is done through a quitclaim deed. Still, quitclaim deeds must be properly executed in the county where the real property is located.
• Life insurance: In your life insurance policy, you can name the revocable trust as the beneficiary of the policy. After you pass away, the insurance company will distribute the proceeds to the successor trustee you designated within the trust. The successor trustee then designates the proceeds according to the trust instructions.
• Businesses: It is sometimes easy to transfer a business into a trust by using a simple assignment. If you co-own the business and there are limits on transfers of your share, a trust lawyer can help you obtain the necessary permission to allow the assignment to the trust.
• Bank accounts: You can transfer a bank account to your loved ones after you pass away by using a revocable trust. It is important to contact your financial institution because each has their own rules for doing this. You can also designate a payable-on-death beneficiary who will automatically receive the funds upon your passing.
• Personal property: Motor vehicles, boats and watercraft, silverware, china, clothing, and jewelry are just a few types of personal property you can transfer into a revocable trust.

Our Trusts Lawyer in Daytona Beach Can Assist with Funding 

Funding a trust may sound fairly simple but if it is not done properly, the legal document will not provide the protection you had intended. At Bundza & Rodriguez, our Daytona Beach trusts lawyer can help ensure your trust is executed properly and make things easier for you and your loved ones. Call us now at 386-252-5170 or contact us online to schedule a consultation and to learn more.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0736/0736.html