Living Trusts at The Document People: “If I knew it was so easy, I would have done it a long time ago!”

If I knew it was so easy I would have done it a long time ago. That’s what our living trust customers tell us oftentimes right after executing a living trust in our Document People/We the People office in Woodland Hills. There is a common misconception that one has to disclose to us all financial assets, including retirement accounts, bank accounts, 401Ks, etc. That’s not the case.
Even if your estate planning incorporates some sort of an Exhibit “A” in your trust, making reference to all of your assets, that’s not how you “fund” your trust. You do so by notifying your bank(s) and financial institution(s) of the fact that you have a living trust.
Your local branch will give you a form to sign (they usually ask for the name of the trust, the name of the trustee(s), which is the person or couple who set up the trust itself, and the date of execution of the trust). You’ll notice in your next bank statement that the account is now in the name of the trust, or that next to your name(s) you’ll see the word “trustee” or “Trs”.
One bank account is enough to trigger probate. Did you know that if the deceased had one single account in a bank, but didn’t designate a beneficiary to the account, and said account has no co-signers, then you’ll need a probate to get the bank to release the funds? We always tell our customers to notify their banks and financial institution of the fact that they just executed a living trust. They typically are given a form to sign by the bank, and that’s how accounts get funded into a trust.
The Document People is a network of legal document assistants who share a common purpose: helping customers with Living Trusts and Estate Planning. We are looking forward to offering you Wills and Trusts assistance in our offices in Woodland Hills (now part of We the People), Santa Monica (now part of We the People), San Fernando, Torrance, Anaheim and Oceanside.
The information contained in this blog – including information of a legal nature – is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.