What do I do after I have a Trust? (AKA Am I done now?)

Once you’ve signed and notarized your Trust, you must put your assets into the name of the trust.

If you put your assets into the trust, those assets get to bypass probate. If you miss an asset, then that asset may have to go through probate. (There are certain things we can do in California to get around this, but that is another post for another day.)

What does it mean to put assets into my trust?

If you have a house, then (unless otherwise agreed with your attorney) you need to retitle your house through a deed. The deed would be to “Juan Jones, Trustee of the Juan Jones Living Trust, dated August 17, 2023.”

 If you have bank accounts (checking, savings, CDs), contact your bank to tell them that you want to move your accounts into 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 brokerage account, contact the holder of the account to find out what you need to do to put your asset into the trust.

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