Signing your trust is only the first step; “funding” it is what actually keeps your family out of court. This guide explains how to transfer bank accounts, real estate, and investments into your trust to ensure your estate plan works exactly as intended.
Over the years, I’ve been asked many times whether a Transfer on Death (TOD) Deed is a good way to pass down property. These deeds were designed to simplify estate planning by avoiding probate—but in practice, they often create more problems than they solve. I no longer recommend TOD deeds to my clients—and I don’t draft them—because…
The F-Word That Can Break Your Estate Plan: Funding Let’s talk about the F-word. No, not that one. We’re talking about funding—and if your trust isn’t funded, your estate plan might not work the way you think it will. Many people walk out of their attorney’s office, binder in hand, feeling accomplished. The trust is…
Your Living Trust contains private information. Instead of making every aspect of the Trust public, you can provide a Certificate of Trust to businesses or people you are dealing with on behalf of the Trust. The Certificate of Trust is a condensed document which is used to verify the important features of your Trust, and…
Our probate calculator may help you determine how much probate will cost, and how much you could save by having a living trust.
