A trust only controls what it actually owns.
That sentence is the whole subject. A signed trust sitting in a binder, with every account still titled in your own name, does not avoid probate, does not give your successor trustee authority, and does not do the thing you paid for. Moving assets into it is called funding, and skipping it is the most common defect we find in plans drafted elsewhere.
This is the sequence we walk clients through. Most people finish in two or three weeks.
Two documents do most of the work
A Certificate of Trust is a short summary proving the trust exists and naming the trustees. This is what banks and brokerages ask for. You hand them this rather than the full trust, so your beneficiaries and distribution terms stay private. There is no reason for a teller to read who inherits what.
An assignment of personal property moves your general household belongings into the trust without further paperwork. Furniture, clothing, ordinary possessions. Signed once, done.
How to retitle an account
Every institution has its own form, but the request is always the same. Call ahead, ask for the department that handles trust retitling, and say:
“I have a revocable living trust and I need to retitle my existing account into the name of the trust. I have a Certificate of Trust.”
The new title reads: [Trustee name], Trustee of the [full trust name] dated [date signed]. Use the exact name and date from the first page of your trust.
Two things worth insisting on:
Ask them to retitle the existing account, not close it and open a new one. Retitling usually preserves your account number, which means direct deposits, automatic payments and linked transfers keep working. Closing and reopening breaks all of it and you will spend a month chasing the pieces.
Get written confirmation. A statement or letter showing the new title. Keep it. That is your proof the asset is funded, and it is what a successor trustee will look for.
Bring the Certificate of Trust, photo identification for each trustee who will sign, and the account number.
What goes into the trust
Bank and credit union accounts. Checking, savings, money market, certificates of deposit. Retitle CDs at renewal if there is an early withdrawal penalty. Safe deposit boxes should be retitled too, so a successor trustee can reach the contents without a court order.
A small everyday checking account is sometimes left in your own name for convenience. That is a reasonable choice as long as the balance stays low enough not to force a probate on its own.
Investment and brokerage accounts. Taxable brokerage accounts, mutual funds held directly with a fund company, individual stock or bond certificates. Most brokerages have a dedicated trust retitling form. Your investments are not sold and your holdings do not change. Only the registration changes, so there is no tax consequence.
Real estate, which moves by deed. More on that below.
What does not go into the trust
This is where an expensive mistake happens, so it deserves its own warning.
Do not retitle retirement accounts into a trust. Moving a 401(k), 403(b), IRA, Roth IRA, SEP, SIMPLE, pension or health savings account into a trust is generally treated as a full withdrawal, and it can trigger income tax on the entire balance. Never sign paperwork retitling one of these.
These accounts pass by beneficiary designation instead, which is a form filed with the plan administrator. Log in to each account and confirm the named beneficiaries are current. A form completed at a job two employers ago does not know about your divorce, your remarriage, or your youngest child.
Life insurance and annuities work the same way. Contact each carrier and confirm primary and contingent beneficiaries. Employer provided life insurance is the one people forget, so check any coverage you have through work.
Whether to name the trust as beneficiary of a retirement account is a genuine question, not a default. It depends on your tax situation and on the terms of the trust, and the wrong designation can accelerate income tax for the people you were trying to protect. Ask before you file that form.
Real estate, and why you should not do the deed yourself
Property moves into a trust by deed, and we prepare those deeds as part of the plan.
Tell us about every parcel you have an interest in: your residence, rental or investment property, vacant land, a cottage or second home, and timeshares. The most important one to catch is property in another state, because out of state real estate can otherwise require a separate probate in that state, which is exactly the outcome the trust was meant to prevent.
Do not prepare these deeds yourself. A defective deed can cloud your title, and an improperly handled transfer can uncap property taxes. Send us the address and a copy of the current deed.
Business interests
If you hold an interest in an LLC, corporation or partnership, tell us. The assignment has to match the entity records, and an operating agreement or set of bylaws will often restrict transfers or require the consent of other owners. Papering it yourself tends to create a conflict between two documents that then have to be untangled later.
Tell us as well if you start, buy into or inherit a business interest after your plan is signed.
Vehicles and valuables
We generally do not retitle everyday vehicles. Michigan offers a simplified process for transferring a vehicle after death, and adding the trust can complicate insurance.
Higher value titled property is a different question. A boat, a recreational vehicle, a collector car. So is anything with its own appraisal or insurance rider: jewellery, artwork, firearms, collections. Tell us about those, and about anything you specifically want a named person to receive.
When you are finished
Keep a list as you go, showing each asset, the institution, the date you requested the change, and whether you have written confirmation. Send it to us and we will flag anything still sitting outside the trust.
Then three habits worth keeping:
Store your documents somewhere your successor trustee can actually reach, and tell that person where they are. A trust nobody can find does not help anyone.
Fund new assets as you acquire them. When you open an account or buy property, title it in the name of the trust from the start. That is far easier than fixing it afterwards.
Review the plan every five years, or sooner after a marriage, divorce, birth, death, a move to another state, or a significant change in your finances.
If you already have a trust from another firm
The check is short. Find out whether a deed transferring your home into the trust was ever prepared and signed, and where that deed is now. Then pull your beneficiary designations and read who they name, because those override both your will and your trust.
Those two answers tell you whether your plan does what you think it does.
Remy Law PLLC is based in Ann Arbor and works with families across Washtenaw County and western Wayne County. George Remy has practiced law in Michigan for more than eighteen years, handles every plan personally, and quotes a flat fee before any work begins, including preparing the deeds that transfer your property into the trust.