A Step by step guide

Last Updated: August 2026

Creating a living trust is an important step in estate planning, but signing and having your trust notarized is only part of the process. The next step is making sure the appropriate assets are connected to the trust.

This process is commonly called funding your trust.

A well-drafted trust may not accomplish everything you intended if your assets were never properly transferred into it. That's why trust funding is one of the most important—and often overlooked—parts of creating a living trust. In short, you can have an excellent trust, but if nothing is put inside of it, it can’t work to protect your legal rights and those assets held outside of it.

If you're new to trusts, you may want to start with Integrity Law’s guide “What Is a Living Trust?” If you're still deciding whether a trust is right for you, read “Do I Need a Trust in Utah?”

Below, we'll explain how trust funding works, which assets may belong in a trust, and some of the common mistakes Utah families should avoid.

What Does It Mean to Fund a Living Trust?

Funding a trust simply means taking the appropriate steps to make sure your assets are owned by, assigned to, or otherwise coordinated with your trust.

Depending on the asset, this will likely involve:

• Changing the title on real estate, particularly your home.
• Retitling a bank, brokerage, or investment account
• Assigning certain personal property to the trust
• Transferring a business interest, like an LLC or Corporation
• Reviewing beneficiary designations

Different types of property require different procedures.

That's important because funding a trust isn't as simple as making a list of your property inside the trust document.

The ownership or beneficiary arrangement of each asset needs to be reviewed individually and frequently requires a different form from each institution where property is held.

Why Is Funding Your Trust So Important?

One of the primary reasons people establish living trusts is to allow assets held in the trust to be administered according to the trust's instructions.

For example, imagine that John creates the John Smith Living Trust.

John signs all of his estate planning documents but never transfers his house into the trust.

Years later, John dies.

The trust exists, but the house may still be titled solely in John's individual name. Depending on the circumstances, additional legal steps—probate—may be necessary before that property can be transferred.

That's exactly the type of situation proper trust funding is intended to help prevent. Unfortunately, we see this type of scenario play out all too often, and it’s one that Integrity Law takes steps to avoid by helping our clients get their trust funded.

How Do I Put My House into My Living Trust?

For many Utah families, their home is their largest asset. The trend towards inflated prices has been fairly consistent over the years, and homes will likely remain one’s largest asset.

Real estate is generally transferred into a living trust by preparing and recording an appropriate deed that changes the property's title from the individual owner to the trustee or trustees of the trust.

For example:

Before:

John and Jane Smith

After:

John and Jane Smith, Trustees of the Smith Living Trust dated [date]

The exact wording and type of deed matter.

After the transfer, John and Jane generally continue living in, maintaining, and controlling their home just as they did before.

At Integrity Law, we see lots of issues with deeds that were drafted improperly, from missing dates, misspelled names, and even different addresses. Because mistakes involving real estate can have significant consequences, it is a good idea to have an attorney or title company review or prepare the deed.

What About My Mortgage?

Having a mortgage does not prevent a home from being transferred into a revocable living trust.

However, every situation is different. Homeowners should review their loan documents and obtain legal advice when appropriate before transferring mortgaged property.

The important point is that transferring ownership to your revocable trust does not mean you stop owning or controlling the home.

If one has a reverse mortgage, careful trust planning provisions and permissions must be attained before transferring the home into a revocable living trust.

Should Bank Accounts Go into a Living Trust?

Many checking, savings, money market, and other non-retirement accounts can potentially be titled in the name of a revocable living trust. Additionally, you can simply change the beneficiary designations or payable on death to the name of the trust. Then, upon death, the institution pays out the money to the trust.

The process varies by financial institution.

Your bank may ask for:

• Identification
• Information about the trust
• A certification or abstract of trust
• Signatures from the trustee or trustees

You usually do not need to close the account and open an entirely new one, although individual banks have their own procedures.

At Integrity Law, we recommend bringing in your trust binder, asking for a manager, and reading a quote we have on your binder that instructs them directly to change your payable on death beneficiary designations into your trust. We also can be called with a paralegal or our office manager placed on speakerphone to discuss your situation directly and in real-time with the financial institution. This process has helped numerous clients prevent issues and errors and is a service we provide free of charge.

What About Investment Accounts?

Non-retirement brokerage and investment accounts may also be appropriate assets to title in a living trust.

Contact the financial institution holding the account and ask about its process for changing ownership to your trust. This will likely include a change of beneficiary designation form.

Again, this is different from changing the beneficiary of an account.

Ownership and beneficiary designations are two different things.

That distinction becomes particularly important with retirement accounts.

Should My IRA or 401(k) Be Put into My Trust?

This is an area where you should be careful.

Retirement accounts such as:

• Traditional IRAs
• Roth IRAs
• 401(k)s
• 403(b)s
• 457s
• Other qualified retirement plans generally should not simply be retitled into your living trust during your lifetime.

Retirement accounts have special tax rules and typically pass according to beneficiary designations.

Instead of changing ownership, your attorney and financial or tax advisors may recommend reviewing the beneficiary designations associated with these accounts.

Whether a trust should ever be named as a beneficiary requires careful consideration of your estate planning goals and potential tax consequences.

Don't automatically change a retirement account simply because you've created a trust. There are instances where tax planning and retirement accounts using Conduit Trusts are beneficial or where young children are involved, but it’s an area where attaining advice from your attorney and financial advisor or accountant is strongly advised.

What About Life Insurance?

Life insurance is another asset that requires consideration of beneficiary designations.

The policy may remain in your individual name while you review who should receive the proceeds when you die.

Depending on your estate plan, beneficiaries might include:

• Your spouse
• Your children
• Other individuals
• Your trust

There isn't one beneficiary arrangement that's right for everyone. Having the life insurance run through the trust is often helpful if one has young children or wants to restrict distributions for any number of reasons.

Can I Put My Business into My Trust?

Business interests can often be coordinated with a living trust, but the process depends on how the business is structured.

For example, transferring an ownership interest in an LLC may require reviewing:

• The operating agreement
• Transfer restrictions
• Buy-sell agreements
• Other owners' rights
• Tax considerations

Simply writing the name of the business in your trust does not necessarily transfer ownership.

Business owners should have their estate planning attorney review their business documents before making changes, so the documents don’t conflict. This typically requires a different fee arrangement for the law office as they might not have originally drafted the business documents.

What About Vehicles?

Vehicles require special consideration.

Whether it makes sense to title a particular vehicle in a trust depends on your estate plan and circumstances. In Utah, one can keep four vehicles in their personal names and not necessarily be subjected to probate. But some collectible vehicles and ones where all the children might fight to get it (Willy’s Jeeps) might be better held in trust.

Rather than automatically transferring every car, truck, trailer, RV, or recreational vehicle into the trust, discuss vehicle ownership with your attorney.

What About Personal Property?

Your estate plan may include an assignment of certain personal property to your trust.

Personal property can include things such as:

• Furniture
• Jewelry
• Artwork
• Tools
• Firearms
• Collectibles
• Household belongings

Some valuable or specially regulated assets may require additional planning, especially NFA Firearms and Digital Assets, such as Cryptocurrencies.

Your attorney can explain how your estate plan handles these items.

Don't Forget Property You Buy Later. Trust funding isn't necessarily a one-time event.

Imagine that you create your trust in 2026.

In 2029, you purchase a rental property. If you purchase th e property individually and forget about your trust, you could unintentionally create a problem your estate plan was designed to avoid.

Whenever you acquire a significant new asset, ask:

“How should this asset be owned as part of my estate plan?”

This is one reason periodic estate plan reviews are so important.

Common Trust Funding Mistakes

1. Signing the Trust and Doing Nothing Else. 

This is one of the biggest mistakes. Creating the document does not automatically change the ownership of all your property.

2. Assuming Everything Belongs in the Trust. 

Not every asset should automatically be retitled.

Retirement accounts are a good example.

3. Forgetting Newly Acquired Property

Your estate plan needs to keep up with your life. Buying a new home, rental property, or business can create new funding issues.

4. Ignoring Beneficiary Designations

Your trust is only one part of your estate plan. Life insurance, retirement accounts, and other beneficiary-designated assets need to coordinate with the rest of your plan.

5. Funding the Trust Once and Never Reviewing It Again

Assets change.

Families change.

Financial institutions change.

Your estate plan should be reviewed periodically and after significant life events.

A Simple Trust Funding Checklist

After creating your living trust, review the following categories:

Real Estate

• Primary resident 
• Rental properties
• Vacation property
• Other real estate

Bank and Investment Accounts

• Checking accounts
• Savings accounts
• Money market accounts
• Non-retirement brokerage accounts

Business Interests

• LLC interests
• Partnership interests
• Closely held business interests

Beneficiary Designations to Review

• Life insurance
• IRAs
• 401(k)s and other retirement plans
• Other beneficiary-designated accounts

Other Property

• Vehicles and Trailers
• Valuable personal property
• Newly acquired assets

The correct treatment of each asset depends on your individual circumstances.

Frequently Asked Questions About Funding a Living Trust

Does creating a trust automatically put my house into it?

No. Creating the trust document itself does not automatically change the title to your real estate. A properly prepared and recorded deed is generally needed to transfer real property into the trust.

Do I have to change all my bank accounts?

Not necessarily. Your attorney can help you determine which accounts should be titled in the trust and which may be handled differently through beneficiary designation.

Should my retirement accounts be owned by my living trust?

This one depends a lot on the facts and circumstances of the family. Generally, retirement accounts should not simply be retitled into your revocable living trust during your lifetime. Their beneficiary designations should instead be carefully reviewed as part of your overall estate plan.

What happens if I forget to put something into my trust?

It depends on the asset and how it is owned. An asset outside the trust may pass through a beneficiary designation, joint ownership, probate, or another method.

Do I need to review my trust funding again later?

Yes. It's wise to review your estate plan periodically and whenever you acquire significant new property or experience a major life change.

The Bottom Line

Creating a living trust is only the beginning.

For the trust to work as intended, your assets need to be properly coordinated with your estate plan.

That doesn't mean transferring everything you own into the trust. It means reviewing each asset and determining the appropriate ownership or beneficiary arrangement.

Proper trust funding can make a significant difference for the people who eventually have to administer your estate.

Continue Learning About Living Trusts

If you're learning about trusts, these resources may also help:

Do I Need a Trust in Utah?
Learn when a living trust may—or may not—make sense for your family.

What Is a Living Trust?
Learn how living trusts work and why Utah families use them.

Can I Put My House Into My Living Trust?
Learn more about transferring real estate into a trust.

What Happens If I Never Fund My Trust?
Learn what can happen when assets remain outside your trust.

Need Help With Your Living Trust?

Every estate plan is different. The appropriate way to title property and coordinate beneficiary designations depends on your assets, family, and goals.

Integrity Law helps Utah families create and maintain estate plans designed for their individual circumstances.

If you have questions about creating or funding a living trust, contact Integrity Law in Tooele, Utah to schedule a consultation.

This article provides general educational information and is not legal advice. Estate planning, tax, property, and beneficiary rules can change, and your individual circumstances matter.

About the Author

Bryan Cowley, Esq.

Estate Planning Attorney | Founder of Integrity Law

Bryan Cowley is the founder of Integrity Law in

Tooele, Utah, His practice focuses exclusively on

estate planning, including revocable living trusts, wills,

powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and trust

administration.

Bryan has the heart of an educator and wants his

clients to understand and not be overwhelmed.

Through articles like this, he is committed to

educating Utah families on wills, trusts and estate

planning so they can make informed decisions about

protecting what matters most.

📞 (435) 277-0529

 📍7 S Main Street Suite 316 Tooele, Utah

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Article Information

Last Updated: August 19, 2026

Reviewed By: Bryan Cowley, Utah Estate Planning

Attorney

Practice Areas:

• Revocable Living Trusts
• Wills
• Powers of Attorney
• Trust Administration