Disclaimer: The information in this blog is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended as legal or tax advice. We encourage you to work with a competent CPA or tax advisor of your choosing. Our office is more than happy to collaborate with them on your case.
Imagine buying a safe, locking it, and then leaving all your valuables sitting on the kitchen counter. That’s what happens when you set up a trust but never fund it. You’ve got the legal document, the structure, and the plan, but if your assets aren’t actually moved into the trust, it doesn’t work the way you intended.
One of the top reasons people choose to create a revocable living trust is to avoid probate. But that only happens if your assets are already inside the trust when you pass away. If they’re not, your family must still go through probate to move them in. That’s why funding your trust is a big deal and why our office handles it differently than most.
What It Means to Fund a Trust
Funding a trust means transferring ownership of your assets into the trust. It’s not automatic. You have to move things into the trust one by one, like placing items into a bucket. If you leave something out like a house, a bank account, or your business, it doesn’t get the benefit of the trust. That includes probate avoidance, privacy, and ease of transfer.
If you die with assets in your name (not titled to your trust), those are called probate assets. They require your will to be probated. Even if you have a backup plan like a pour-over will that moves leftover assets into the trust after death, you’ve still lost one of the main benefits: avoiding probate in the first place.
Our office doesn’t just hand you a trust and wish you luck. We record your Brunswick County deed for you and help move your home into your trust. We prepare title assignments for your vehicles and suggest you include them, too. We also prepare assignments for your LLCs, corporations, or other business interests. If your business entity owns real estate, you don’t need a new deed, we just assign the business itself into your trust. Think of the business like a little bubble. It keeps operating like normal, but now it floats inside your trust.
Why Other Law Firms Fall Short
A lot of firms stop at paperwork. They’ll draft your trust and say, “You should go fund it.” But they won’t do the work. That’s like giving you blueprints to a house and telling you to go build it yourself.
We think it’s our duty to help you finish the job, not leave you halfway. Our clients don’t have to guess what goes into the trust, how to title their assets, or where to record their documents. We take care of the details, including preparing and recording the deed, assigning vehicle titles, and transferring membership interests in businesses. That makes your trust more than just a plan; it makes it real.
If you’re setting up a trust and want to make sure it actually works, B. Joseph Causey, Jr., Attorney at Law, can help. We don’t just hand over documents, we help you fill the bucket. Reach out today to get started.