Before a funding meeting can occur to complete a trust there has to be what is referred to as a “signing meeting”. A signing meeting involves signing all the estate documents that have been prepared. We make sure that the client has their personal wishes fulfilled by carefully planning the details of the documents to meet the clients needs. So what does it mean to fund a trust? Funding a trust is simply transferring assets from the client’s name to the name of the trust.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when preparing for funding.
- Gather all of the assets desired to put into the trust. If a client were to neglect putting assets into the trust’s name the trust would not own anything and would essentially be of no value.
- It’s important to be aware there is a difference when funding for a revocable and irrevocable trust. A revocable trust allows the grantor control of assets and the grantor can dissolve the trust if necessary whereas an irrevocable trust the grantor loses ownership of the property that is put into the trust as well as control over the assets.
- When a trust is set up it will likely have a “pour over” will. A “pour over” will is a great tool to have! This type of will transfers assets the grantor forgot to name into the trust for them after they have passed away.
These are some basic tips to keep in mind when preparing to fund a trust. As always, the staff of Donald Law Office, is happy to help answer any questions or concerns that may arise.