Funding a Revocable Trust: What Attorneys Often Miss

Funding is the trust

A revocable living trust is only as strong as the assets titled in its name. Unfunded or partially funded trusts fail at the very thing they were built to avoid: probate.

Common gaps

1. Real estate — deeds never re-recorded in the trust's name.
2. Bank and brokerage accounts — retitling paperwork started but never completed.
3. Beneficiary designations — life insurance and retirement accounts still name individuals, not the trust.

A simple funding checklist

• Re-record the deed for each real property.
• Retitle every financial account.
• Update beneficiary forms to align with the estate plan.
• Assign personal property via a general assignment.

Review titling annually. Life changes — marriages, refinance, new accounts — quietly undo funding.