Once your Revocable Living Trust has been signed, an important task remains. This is known as “funding the Revocable Living Trust.” Deeds to your real estate must be prepared and recorded with the appropriate County Recorder’s Office. If Bank accounts, stock and bond accounts, or certificates are to become part of your Revocable Living Trust, they too must be officially transferred into the Revocable Living Trust. These tasks are not necessarily expensive, but they are important and do require some paperwork.
A Revocable Living Trust can hold both separate and marital property. This makes it convenient for spouses to plan for the management and ultimate distribution of their assets in one document. If you own real estate in another state, you might (depending on that state's law) transfer that asset to your Trust as well to avoid probate in that other state. A lawyer from that state can help you prepare the deed and complete the transfer. If the real estate is located in Utah, a Utah lawyer should prepare the transfer deed and advise you on transferring such real property to your Revocable Living Trust.
A lawyer can help you transfer other assets as well. For example, you should consider changing the beneficiary designations on life insurance to your Revocable Living Trust. As for the beneficiary designations on a qualified plan (such as a 401(k) or an IRA), you should seek a qualified professional's advice because there are serious income tax issues.