Actions to be taken for Transferring
Assets to a Revocable Living Trust
Type of Assets and What to do
Bank and Savings Accounts
See bank officer and have account titled: ["William W. Whitewater, Trustee of the William W. Whitewater Revocable Living Trust of January 4, 1999."]
Real Estate
Have new deeds prepared transferring property from present owners to: ["William W. Whitewater, Trustee of the William W. Whitewater Revocable Living Trust of
January 4, 1999."]
Stock
Publicly traded:
Have present stock certificates changed by stock broker to the Trustee name as indicated above. (Note: There should be "no charge" for this pursuant to our understanding of the NYSE rules.)
Stock of closely-held corporations:
Stock certificates should be changed on the books of the corporation. This is normally done by the officers of the corporation or the attorney for the corporation.
Insurance Policies
Check with your insurance representative. Often, the best way to change the policy beneficiary is to designate the Successor Trustee(s) as follows: ["John W. Whitewater and Mary L. Whitewater, Successor Trustees of the "William W. Whitewater Revocable Living Trust of January 4, 1999."]
Partnership Interests
Partnership interests may be changed as follows: ["William W. Whitewater, Trustee of the William W. Whitewater Revocable Living Trust of January 4, 1999."]
Other Assets
If there is some "thing" or document which shows ownership, that "thing" or document can be changed to transfer the asset to the trust.
If there is a trust for each spouse, then assets transferred to the respective trusts should be titled accordingly as trusts holding interests as tenants in common.
Normally, it is to the benefit of the creator of the trust and the beneficiaries to have the assets transferred to the trust during the creator's life, because this normally reduces Federal and State taxes, probate expenses and ensures availability of the assets at the time of the death of the creator.
Copyright 1999
By the law firm of Newland & Associates, PLC
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