If I signed my trust, am I done?

Many times people think that once they’ve signed the final paperwork and have their trust, they’re done and they don’t need to look at it ever again. But there’s another step:

You must put all of your assets into the name of the trust.

If you have a bank account, this will mean contacting your bank to tell them that you have a trust and that you want to put your checking account or a savings account or brokerage account into the name of your trust. It will not change your account number (and shouldn’t change how your checks look) because it uses your social security number.

If you have a house and your attorney is not handling the deed for you, you MUST make sure that you retitle your house through a deed.

Different assets have different requirements to transfer into the trust. Please speak with your attorney if you have any questions.

This step is critical: if you do not put your assets into the name of the trust, then those assets may still go through probate. Remember: part of the reason you set up the trust was to avoid going through the cost and time and publicity of probate! So let’s finish off your estate plan and get those assets into the trust.

If you aren’t sure how to do this or you have questions, please contact me and I’ll get you through it!