Drafting a Trust and Funding It Are Different Jobs
That is a question to ask before you hire the lawyer, because preparing a trust and funding it are separate pieces of work. Signing the document does not automatically change the deed to your house or the ownership of your bank accounts. If your goal is to have those assets managed under the trust, the appropriate ownership changes need to happen. You should know who is responsible for that work before you leave with the signed documents.
We Fund the Trusts We Draft
At Monteforte Law, we fund the trusts we draft. That is part of how we establish the plan, and it is one of the things we want clients to understand when comparing firms. You should not assume that a proposal to prepare a trust includes the same implementation work everywhere. Ask specifically what happens to the house, the accounts, and any other assets that are supposed to become part of the arrangement.
What Happens When the House Is Left Out
Consider a parent who creates a trust to keep a home out of probate but leaves the house in their individual name. The trust may contain excellent instructions, yet the deed still controls how that ownership must be addressed after death. The family may need probate to deal with the house despite believing the trust had taken care of it. Massachusetts explains the importance of asset ownership in its guidance on when probate is necessary.
Every Asset Needs the Right Treatment
Funding requires looking at what you actually own and how it is held. A house needs different treatment from a bank account, and a business interest may require review of an operating agreement. Retirement accounts usually need coordination through beneficiary designations rather than being retitled into your living trust during your lifetime. We do not treat every asset as though the same change form solves everything. The work has to match both the asset and the purpose of the plan.
What You Will Still Be Asked to Do
You will still have a role in the process. We need accurate information, current statements, and your participation when signatures or an institution’s requirements call for it. A bank may require something directly from its customer, and an insurance company may use its own beneficiary forms. Having the firm handle funding does not mean you will never receive a request. It means the process should have direction instead of leaving you to decide what needs to be done and how to do it.
A Pour-Over Will Is a Backup, Not a Plan
A will that directs assets into a trust after death can provide a useful backup, but it does not make lifetime funding unnecessary. Assets passing through that will may still require probate before reaching the trust. That may ultimately get them to the intended beneficiaries, but through a process you had hoped to avoid. We want to identify the assets that should be addressed now so the backup is not doing work that could have been completed during your lifetime.
Keep New Assets Coordinated
The ownership arrangements also need to stay coordinated after the initial work. If you open a new investment account, buy another home, or move money to a different institution, the new asset may not follow the same structure as the old one. Tell us before or during those changes so we can discuss how they fit. A trust that was properly funded when you signed it can develop gaps if later transactions are handled without reference to the plan.
Ask What the Finished Work Looks Like
When you review an estate planning proposal, ask what the finished work will look like beyond the documents. You should understand which assets belong in the trust, which need different arrangements, and what remains for you to do. Our commitment to funding the trusts we draft is meant to address that practical part of planning. The family should be able to rely on the ownership arrangements as well as the language in the binder when the time comes to use them.
Start with a free 15-minute consult call with Nicole Ott, our Lead Intake Coordinator. Tell her whether you already have a trust and what you own. That is usually enough for us to say what to do next.
