Congratulations on Completing Your Signing Meeting!
You're one step closer to completing your estate plan. Now that you've signed your documents, the next step is funding your trust—an essential part of ensuring your estate plan works as intended. This page contains everything you'll need to complete the funding process, including your next steps, helpful resources, answers to frequently asked questions, and guidance on transferring your assets into your trust.
What’s Next?
Funding Your Trust
After we sign documents, you may need to transfer assets from you to your trust and/or update beneficiary designations for various accounts. Together, we will walk you through your final steps, including instructions for your financial advisor with updates to your managed accounts. Using our custom instructions, you will then complete those updates that only you can access in the days or weeks after the meeting.
To-Do List
While our firm cannot directly fund your financial accounts—since banks, investment firms, and retirement plan providers require your personal authorization—you are not alone in this process.
Trust funding can feel overwhelming, but both our office and your financial advisors are available to guide you. We will provide clear instructions, answer your questions, and coordinate with your advisors to ensure your assets are properly transferred.
With teamwork and support, you can complete these steps and fully fund your trust.
Please review the instructions below carefully. If you have any questions or need personalized assistance, please reach out to Ashley at (503) 678-9677 or ashley@generationsestatelaw.com
Post Signing Meeting
Frequently Asked Questions
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Your Certificate of Trust and funding instructions are typically available within one to two business days after your signing appointment, and in many cases, they may be ready the same day. This allows you to begin the important process of funding your trust while our team completes the final processing of your estate planning binder.
During this time, we finalize your documents, scan and securely store them in our system, and prepare your binder for pickup or mailing. Once everything is complete, we will notify you that your binder is ready, and you will also receive digital access to your finalized estate planning documents.
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We recommend keeping your estate planning portfolio in a secure location in your home where it is protected but easily accessible when needed. Many clients choose to store their documents in a fireproof safe. It's also important to let your trustee or another trusted individual know where your portfolio is located.
We generally do not recommend storing your original estate planning documents in a safe deposit box. After your death or in the event of your incapacity, it can be difficult for your loved ones or fiduciaries to access the contents of a safe deposit box, which may delay the administration of your estate.
If you have questions about the best place to store your documents, our office is happy to provide guidance based on your circumstances.
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Funding your trust is an important step in ensuring that your estate plan works as intended. This process generally involves transferring ownership of certain assets into the name of your trust or updating beneficiary designations where appropriate.
We've created detailed funding instructions to guide you through the process, including information about common asset types and the steps required for each. Please refer to our Trust Funding Guide using the link below.
If you have questions about funding your trust or need assistance with a specific asset, please contact our office. We're happy to help you understand the process and determine the next steps.
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If you are buying or selling a home, we recommend letting your title company know that your property is held in your trust. This allows the title company to prepare the purchase or sale documents correctly, identifying you as the trustee of your trust.
In many cases, no additional action is required during the transaction. However, some lenders require a newly purchased home to be titled in your individual name at closing. If that happens, it's important to contact our office after the purchase is complete so we can help transfer ownership of the property into your trust.
If you have questions before or during your real estate transaction, we're happy to work with you to help ensure your trust remains properly funded.
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We recommend sharing your health care documents with your primary care provider and making sure your designated health care representatives know where to find them. This helps ensure your wishes can be accessed quickly if they are ever needed.
For additional peace of mind, we partner with DocuBank, a secure document storage service that provides 24/7 worldwide access to your health care directives for a small annual fee. If you're interested in enrolling, you can find more information using the link below.
Whether you choose to share your trust documents with your family is a personal decision. At a minimum, we recommend letting your trustee and loved ones know where your documents are stored and how to access them when needed. Many clients also find it beneficial to discuss their estate plan with their family and successor trustees so everyone understands their roles and has the opportunity to ask questions.
If you would like additional guidance, we also offer Family Meetings to help successor trustees and other key individuals better understand their responsibilities and your estate plan.