“𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝗽 𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁?”

No! Once the Trust is established, you must be sure it is properly funded to ensure that you do not subject your loved ones to Probate.

Sometimes, our clients express hesitation about creating the Trust based on their circumstances.

For example, some of our clients are going through divorce, or are in the process of changing major bank accounts or moving, and they “need” to wait before preparing Estate Planning documents, especially the Revocable Living Trust.
On the contrary, it is beneficial to prepare the Trust as soon as possible so you save yourself the time and effort, as discussed below. Creating a Trust is a two-step process.

Step one is creating a solid Revocable Trust with a knowledgeable Trusts and Estates attorney.

Step two is going over your assets, and either adding the Trust as beneficiary or retitling into the name of the Trust, depending on the type of asset.

Once complete, you will be able to make these designations immediately with new assets you acquire. Without step two, your Trust will be empty and will still leave your loved ones to deal with Probate.

A critical mistake people often make is funding their trust with the assets they owned at the time it was created, but not continuing to do so with new accounts, and properties, etc. as the years go by.

Once the Trust is created, making sure that your assets will end up in the Trust or to the intended beneficiary is an active process, and typically does not require a lawyer to update.

When you set up a Trust with us, we provide detailed written instructions on how to retitle any assets that you disclose to us. You also get guidance on how to handle new assets you acquire long after you finish working with us.

We encourage our clients to review these instructions at least once a year to make sure that any new assets are properly retitled. When you set up a Trust, it should always be accompanied by what is known as a “pour-over Will”, which names the Trust of any remaining assets.

In this situation, however, the Trust is treated just like any other beneficiary in a Will – it will eventually receive the assets, but only after they go through the Probate process.

𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮. You can call out Client Intake Manager at 301-696-0567 during regular business hours, email us at admin@lenaclarklegal.com, schedule online at lenaclarklegal.com, or speak to one of our 24-hour representatives after hours.

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