Trust Funding: Why It’s Not Enough to Just Create a Trust

17 November 2025

So, you’ve taken the time to sit with an estate planning attorney, you’ve discussed your assets, and you’ve created a living trust. That’s a solid start. You might be thinking, “Whew, I’m all set now.” But wait—are you sure?

Here’s a little secret most people don’t realize: Creating the trust isn’t the finish line. It’s just the starting gun. If you haven’t funded your trust, you’re leaving the job half-done. And when it comes to protecting your assets and avoiding probate, "half-done" doesn’t cut it.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the mysterious world of trust funding—and why it might be the missing puzzle piece in your estate plan.

What Exactly Is Trust Funding?

Let’s strip the jargon and talk real.

Trust funding is the process of moving your assets—your house, bank accounts, investments, maybe even that vintage car—into your trust. Think of the trust like a box. Creating the trust is building that box with all its legal bells and whistles. But if you never put anything inside the box, what’s the point?

Funding your trust means either renaming ownership of assets into the trust or naming the trust as the beneficiary.

If you skip this step? Those assets still pass through probate court, just like someone who never made a trust in the first place.

The Big Lie: “Creating a Trust Means I’m Done”

This might be the most dangerous myth floating around estate planning circles.

You go to a lawyer. They prepare a snazzy binder full of paperwork with your name on it. You pay a decent chunk of change. The attorney smiles. Everyone shakes hands.

Done, right?

Wrong. Unless the attorney is also helping you fund every asset into the trust—and many don’t unless you specifically ask or pay extra—you’re walking around with an empty shell. It’s like buying a safe to store your valuables and then locking it up…completely empty.

Let that sink in.

Here’s Why Trust Funding Actually Matters

1. Avoid Probate (For Real This Time)

The main reason people create a living trust in the first place is to avoid probate—you know, that long, public, often expensive court process that happens when someone dies without a proper estate plan.

But here’s the kicker: Only assets that are inside your trust avoid probate.

If you leave property out of your trust, even with a trust document in place, it’s still subject to court intervention. So instead of smoothly transferring assets to your loved ones, they could be facing months (or years) of red tape. Not cool.

2. Maintain Privacy

Probate is public. Anyone curious enough can find out exactly what you owned and where it went.

A properly funded trust keeps your financial affairs behind closed doors. But again, only the assets inside the trust stay private. Anything left out is up for public review.

Imagine that—an open book displaying all your hard-earned assets, read aloud in a courtroom. Yikes.

3. Ensure Control from Beyond the Grave

Sounds dramatic, right? But you created your trust for a reason—to make sure your wishes are followed. Maybe you want your spouse to live in the house but eventually pass it to your kids. Or you want to make sure little Johnny doesn’t blow his inheritance on sports cars at 18.

None of these detailed instructions matter if the house or the money never made it into the trust in the first place.

Assets floating outside the trust revert back to default inheritance laws. Meaning, the court gets to make decisions you were supposed to make. That’s not just inconvenient—it’s heartbreaking.

Common Mistakes That Leave Trusts Unfunded

You’d be surprised how often people miss this step. Here’s where most folks slip up:

1. Forgetting to Re-title Assets

Just because you list an asset in the trust document doesn’t mean it’s officially part of the trust. You have to change the title. That means going to the bank, your brokerage firm, or the county recorder—whoever holds the records—and officially moving ownership into the trust.

If your home is still in your name alone? It’s not in the trust. Simple as that.

2. Ignoring Beneficiary Designations

Assets like life insurance, retirement accounts, or annuities don’t need to be re-titled per se. Instead, you designate a new beneficiary—your trust.

If you forget to update these forms, they go to the listed beneficiaries, not necessarily according to your carefully written instructions.

3. Acquiring New Assets Without Updating the Trust

Let’s say you did everything right five years ago. You funded your trust, dotted the i’s, crossed the t’s. But then you bought a second home, opened a new savings account, or started a business—and forgot to include those in the trust.

Those new assets? They sit outside, waiting for probate. Your trust only controls what you feed into it.

So, How Do You Actually Fund a Trust?

Funding your trust isn’t necessarily difficult, but it does take some effort—and a bit of follow-through. Let’s walk through the basics:

Real Estate

You must sign new deeds transferring ownership from your name to your trust. This involves recording the deed with your local county office. If you own multiple properties, each one needs its own transfer.

Bank Accounts

You’ll have to visit your bank in person with your trust paperwork. Most institutions require you to fill out a change-of-ownership form to rename the account under the trust.

Investment Accounts

Similar to banks. Provide trust documents to your brokerage firm, and update the registration of the accounts to reflect the trust’s name.

Retirement Accounts & Life Insurance

Don’t re-title these. Instead, update the beneficiary designation forms to name your trust as the primary or contingent beneficiary (depending on how you’ve structured the plan).

Vehicles

Transferring vehicle titles varies by state. In some places, it’s straightforward—just a trip to the DMV. Others recommend using special tools like a "pour-over will" to catch these at death if not retitled.

Can You Fix an Unfunded Trust Later?

Yes—but timing matters. If you’re alive and well, you can still fund your trust. Just start collecting asset documents and systematically retitle everything.

But if you die with an unfunded trust? That’s a problem.

Unless you had a back-up plan (like a pour-over will), your family may need to go through probate to transfer the missed assets. And even then, it can be messier, more expensive, and less precise than you intended.

Don’t leave it to chance.

The Sneaky Power of the Pour-Over Will

A pour-over will is like a safety net for your trust. It's a special type of will that says, “Hey, if I forgot to put something in my trust, please put it in there when I die.”

Sounds handy, right? And it is—to an extent. But even with a pour-over will, the assets still go through probate first before getting to the trust.

That means all the time, cost, and public exposure you were trying to avoid? Still happens.

A pour-over will is a backup, not a plan A.

Trust Funding Is Ongoing... Not One-and-Done

Life doesn’t stand still—and neither should your trust.

Every time you buy something big, open a new account, or receive a windfall, ask yourself: “Does this need to go into my trust?”

If you’ve created a trust but haven’t touched it in years, it’s probably time for a review. Think of it like cleaning out your gutters—not exciting, but necessary to avoid disaster.

Work with your attorney to create a checklist or spreadsheet. Make it part of your financial maintenance routine. You’ll thank yourself later.

The Bottom Line: Build the Box, Then Fill It

Creating a trust is like building a state-of-the-art vault. But if you never put your treasures inside, you've built a castle with no treasure.

Don’t let your trust be an empty promise. If you’ve already gone through the effort to create one, take the next crucial step and fund it thoroughly.

It’s not as complex as it sounds. It just requires a little time, attention to detail, and commitment to finish what you started.

So now the question is: Is your trust actually doing its job—or is it just sitting there, empty and powerless?

Final Thoughts

Nobody likes dealing with estate planning—it sounds boring, morbid, and full of legal red tape. But trust funding? That’s the overlooked guardian of your financial legacy.

It’s the difference between a seamless transfer of wealth and a chaotic mess your loved ones have to clean up.

So roll up your sleeves, double-check your assets, and make sure your trust isn’t just a beautiful box gathering dust.

Because when it comes to your legacy, doing 90% of the work isn’t enough.