Funding Your Living Trust

Creating a Revocable Living Trust is one of the smartest moves you can make to protect your family, avoid probate, and preserve your legacy. But here’s the truth: a trust is only effective if it’s properly funded.

At Jenkins & Jenkins, Estate Planning Attorneys, we help clients across San Diego and throughout California create and then fully fund their trusts — 100% virtually. From real estate to retirement accounts, we guide you through every step, so your trust does what it’s designed to do when your family needs it most.

What Does "Funding a Trust" Mean?

Funding a trust means transferring ownership of your assets into the name of your trust.

Think of your trust like a safe. You can build the strongest, most legally sound safe in the world—but if you don’t put anything inside, it won’t protect your valuables. The same goes for your trust: if it isn’t funded, your estate could (and likely will) still go through probate.

What Assets Should Be Funded Into a Living Trust?

Here are some of the most common assets we help our clients fund into their trusts:

• Real Estate (primary residence, rental properties, vacation homes)

• Bank Accounts (checking, savings, CDs)

• Non-Retirement Investment Accounts (brokerage, mutual funds)

• Business Interests (LLCs, Corporations)

• Tangible Personal Property (jewelry, art, collectibles)

Some assets—like retirement accounts and life insurance—are not typically transferred directly into a trust but can be aligned with your plan using carefully crafted beneficiary designations. We’ll help you decide which assets go in your trust, which stay out, and how to coordinate everything to work together

What Happens If You Don't Fund Your Trust?

This is one of the most common estate planning mistakes, especially when someone doesn’t use expert legal counsel in creating (and maintaining) their estate plan. If you create a trust but don’t fund it, your loved ones may still:

• Face probate court delays and expenses

• Deal with confusing title issues on your home or assets

• Be forced to handle the family affairs in full view of the public

• Be unable to access critical accounts or property

• Be left with an incomplete or inconsistent plan

A properly funded trust helps avoid all of that—and ensures your plan actually works when it’s needed most.

Our Trust Funding Support

At Jenkins & Jenkins, we guide you through the funding process step-by-step — at your pace. We don’t just hand you a checklist and send you on your way. We’re here to help you complete the process confidently and correctly

Our funding support includes:

1. Asset Review
We’ll go over your assets during the planning process to determine what needs to be funded into the trust.

2. Customized Funding Instructions
You’ll receive clear, easy-to-follow instructions for retitling each type of asset—based on the policies of specific banks, brokerages, and county offices.

3. Deed Preparation & Recording
For real estate, we prepare and record the necessary deeds to transfer title into your trust in full compliance with your County Recorder and California law.

4. Beneficiary Designation Guidance
We’ll help you update or confirm beneficiaries for retirement accounts and life insurance to align with your overall estate plan.

5. Ongoing Funding Support
Questions after the plan is complete? We’re just a call or email away—no extra fees for quick funding guidance to our clients. We'll check in from time to time to make sure nothing has changed, as well.

Own a business? We have you covered there too – we’ll ensure your business interest is properly set to pass according to your wishes.

Own a professional corporation? Even more reason to work with an expert! We’ll ensure your Trust can handle the professional corporation interest and that neither incapacity nor death force the loss of your professional legacy.

Virtual, Personal, and Thorough

Estate planning doesn’t have to be overwhelming—or in person. At Jenkins & Jenkins, we’ve built a modern estate planning process that’s fully virtual for convenience, but that never compromises direct access to and counsel from your attorney.

Whether you live in Downtown San Diego, La Mesa, Carlsbad, or anywhere else in California, you’ll meet directly with an experienced attorney by secure video conference. No office visits. No paperwork confusion. Just clear, professional guidance—on your terms

Ready to Fund Your Trust the Right Way?

Whether you’re creating a new estate plan or reviewing an existing trust, proper funding is the key to making it work. Let us guide you through it, with clear explanations, easy steps, and reliable virtual support.

Schedule your free call with our Attorneys today and take the first step toward a secure, well-planned future!