Funding Your Trust
Creating a trust is only the first step. An unfunded trust holds no assets and does not protect your estate from probate. Funding means transferring ownership of your assets into the trust’s name, and it is the most important step in the process.
- Move real estate and accounts into your trust
- Keep your estate out of probate
- Avoid the most common trust mistake
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What Trust Funding Means
Funding a trust means retitling your assets so they are owned by the trust rather than by you individually. For real estate, that means recording a new deed transferring the property into the trust. For bank and investment accounts, it means updating ownership with your financial institution. For other assets, it means assigning ownership through the appropriate legal mechanism.
A trust you never fund is just paper. Funding is what actually keeps your estate out of probate.
It is the step most do-it-yourself plans miss, and the reason they fail when it matters.
Assets That Should Be in Your Trust
- Real estate, including your primary residence, vacation homes, and investment properties
- Bank accounts, including checking, savings, and money market accounts
- Investment and brokerage accounts
- Business interests, including LLC membership interests and corporate shares
- Notes receivable and other financial instruments
- Valuable personal property such as artwork, jewelry, and collectibles
Work directly with Travor Moses
Travor Moses is an estate planning and elder law attorney licensed in Idaho, California and Florida. When you reach out, you work with him directly, not a call center or an intake queue.
He explains your options in plain language and builds a trust around your family and your goals, not a fill-in-the-blank template. Initial consultations are always free.
Meet TravorAlready Have a Trust?
We can review whether it is fully funded and handle any assets that were missed.
More About Funding
Certain assets should not be transferred into a revocable trust, or require special handling. Retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s should generally not be retitled into a trust due to tax consequences. Life insurance policies are typically better handled through a beneficiary designation or an irrevocable life insurance trust. Vehicles are often left outside the trust for practical reasons.
Trust funding does not end when the trust is signed. Every time you acquire a new asset, purchase real estate, or open a new account, you need to consider whether it should be titled in the trust. Moses Estate Planning gives clients clear guidance on handling new assets and reviews trust funding as part of ongoing estate plan maintenance.
Make Sure Your Trust Is Properly Funded
A trust only works if it actually holds your assets. Travor Moses offers free consultations to review your funding and close any gaps.