To put assets in a trust, you retitle each asset out of your personal name and into the trustee’s name, using the paperwork that fits the asset: a new deed for real estate, change-of-ownership forms for bank and brokerage accounts, a written assignment for personal property, title transfer paperwork for vehicles, and asset-specific steps for business interests and life insurance. A signed trust that holds nothing does not avoid probate. Funding is what makes the trust work.
Information to Have Ready Before You Start
Every bank, brokerage, insurer, and county office you deal with will ask for the same handful of details about the trust. Pulling them together once saves repeating the hunt for every form.
- The full legal name of the trust, including the date it was created (for example, “The Smith Family Trust dated March 15, 2025”).
- The names of all current trustees.
- The trust’s tax identification number. A revocable trust where you are both grantor and trustee generally uses your Social Security number. An irrevocable trust needs its own Employer Identification Number from the IRS, and a revocable trust needs a new EIN after the grantor dies because the Social Security number can no longer be used.1Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
- A certification of trust. This short summary proves the trust exists and confirms the trustee’s authority without disclosing who inherits what. Most states have adopted a version of Uniform Trust Code Section 1013, which requires institutions to accept this document in place of the full trust agreement.
- An inventory of every asset you plan to transfer, with account numbers, property addresses, and stock identifiers. This becomes your working checklist.
Transferring Real Estate
Real estate moves into a trust through a new deed, usually a quitclaim or grant deed, that transfers ownership from you as an individual to you as trustee. Name the trustee in that official capacity: “Jane Smith, Trustee of the Smith Family Trust dated March 15, 2025.”
The deed has to include the property’s full legal description, not just the street address. You can find it on the deed you received when you bought the home. A missing or wrong legal description can cloud title or cause the recorder’s office to reject the filing. Sign the deed, have it notarized, and file it with the county recorder in the county where the property sits. Many recorders now accept electronic filings alongside paper submissions. Recording fees vary by county, generally running from $15 to $150. You get back a stamped copy once the office processes it.
If the property has a mortgage, federal law protects you from the lender calling the loan due simply because the home moved into your trust. The Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act bars lenders from enforcing a due-on-sale clause when you transfer a residence into a trust in which you remain a beneficiary and continue living there.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-On-Sale Prohibitions Notify the lender anyway so their records are current.
Then call your homeowners insurer. Once the trust owns the property, the policy’s named insured needs to reflect that; ask the insurer to add the trust as a named insured. A mismatch between the policyholder and the legal owner can give the insurance company grounds to deny a claim.
Bank, Brokerage, and Certificated Securities
Call your bank and ask for its change-of-ownership or new-account paperwork. Some banks retitle the existing account; others close it and open a new one in the trust’s name. Either way, you provide the certification of trust and sign a new signature card. The account name has to match the trust’s legal name exactly, because small discrepancies create problems later.
Brokerage accounts work the same way. Request the firm’s trust account forms, provide the same documentation, and update dividend and interest payment instructions so income flows to the right account. Some firms charge a small processing fee.
Stocks and bonds held as paper certificates need an extra step. Complete a stock power form, which authorizes the transfer agent to reissue the securities in the trust’s name. Contact the issuing company’s transfer agent for their specific requirements. Reissuance can take several weeks.
Personal Property and Vehicles
Furniture, jewelry, art, and collectibles have no formal title, so they move through a general assignment: a written statement transferring your ownership interest in the listed items to the trust. A broad assignment covering all tangible personal property is standard, and specifically listing high-value items like heirloom watches, fine art, or rare collections adds clarity if beneficiaries disagree later. The assignment does not get filed anywhere; store it with the original trust documents.
Vehicles do have titles, so they go through your state’s motor vehicle agency. You will usually need a new title application, a copy of the trust agreement or a certification of trust, and a title transfer fee that typically falls between $15 and $75. Some states also want proof of insurance showing the trust as the vehicle owner, so talk to your auto insurer before you go in.
Business Interests
An ownership stake in an LLC, partnership, or closely held corporation requires a close reading of the entity’s governing documents first. Operating agreements and partnership agreements often restrict transfers, sometimes requiring consent from other members or partners, sometimes barring transfers to certain entities altogether. Check before you move anything.
If the agreement permits it, you transfer an LLC or partnership interest by signing a written assignment of membership or partnership interest to the trust. Both you and the trustee sign, and the entity updates its records.
S corporation stock is the hard case. Federal tax law limits who can hold S corporation shares, and only certain trusts qualify. A revocable trust where you are the grantor and deemed owner qualifies during your lifetime. After the grantor’s death, that trust remains an eligible shareholder for only two years.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 1361 – S Corporation Defined After that, the trust has to convert to a qualifying type, such as an electing small business trust, or the corporation can lose its S election. Talk to a tax professional before moving S corporation shares into any trust.
Life Insurance
A standard life insurance policy moves into a revocable trust through a change-of-ownership form from the insurer, and you also name the trust as beneficiary. Ownership changes, proceeds pay into the trust at your death, and the policy avoids probate.
Irrevocable life insurance trusts carry a timing trap. If you transfer an existing policy into an irrevocable trust and die within three years, the full death benefit is pulled back into your taxable estate as if the transfer never happened.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 2042 – Proceeds of Life Insurance The safer route is to have the trustee apply for and buy a new policy from the start, so you never hold any ownership rights. You then contribute cash to the trust, and the trustee pays the premiums.
What Not to Put in a Trust
Some accounts lose their tax status the moment you change the owner, and the cost can be severe.
- Retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s). An IRA has to be held for the exclusive benefit of an individual. Retitling one into a trust is treated by the IRS as a full withdrawal, triggering income tax on the entire balance and, if you are under 59½, a 10 percent early withdrawal penalty. The same principle applies to employer plans. You can name a trust as the beneficiary of these accounts on the plan’s beneficiary form, but you cannot change the owner to the trust.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 408 – Individual Retirement Accounts
- Health savings accounts. HSAs also have to be held by an individual. Transferring one to a trust strips its tax-exempt status, and the balance becomes taxable.
If you want the trust to receive these assets at death, use the account’s beneficiary designation form; do not retitle the account. Note that when a trust is the beneficiary of a retirement account rather than an individual, the distribution rules are less favorable, and in most cases the full balance has to be withdrawn within a set number of years after the account holder’s death.6Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Beneficiary
Tax Points That Can Change Your Plan
Property Tax Reassessment
Transferring real estate into a revocable trust that you can revoke generally does not trigger a property tax reassessment, because you still control the property and can take it back. Rules vary, so confirm with your county assessor before recording the deed.
Gift Tax on Irrevocable Transfers
Funding a revocable trust has no gift tax consequences, because you keep full control. Funding an irrevocable trust is a gift for federal tax purposes. If your gifts to any one person exceed the annual exclusion ($19,000 per recipient in 2026), you have to file IRS Form 709.7Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax You may also need to file Form 709 for gifts below that threshold if the gift is a “future interest,” meaning the beneficiary cannot use or access it right away, which is common with trust transfers.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 709
Keep every recorded deed, account confirmation, assignment, and beneficiary designation together with the trust documents, and revisit the inventory whenever you buy new property or open a new account. Anything acquired after you fund the trust has to be transferred in the same way, or it sits outside the trust.