Funding Is the Step People Skip
Funding means retitling your assets into the trust’s name: deeding real estate, retitling bank and brokerage accounts, assigning business interests. A living trust document by itself does nothing; only the assets actually titled in the trust avoid probate and follow its instructions. This is exactly why DIY trusts so often fail, people buy the document and never fund it.
Putting Your House in the Trust
You record a new deed transferring the home into the trust. In Florida, three things have to be right: your homestead protections carry over (with proper drafting), your mortgage is not triggered (federal law protects transfers to your own living trust), and your homestead tax exemption is preserved. Get the deed wrong and you can jeopardize all three.
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Not everything belongs in the trust. Retirement accounts (IRA, 401k) generally should not be retitled, that can trigger tax; you coordinate them by beneficiary designation instead. A pour-over will backstops anything you miss, but the goal is to fund completely while you are alive so it rarely has to.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does It Mean to "Fund" a Trust?
Funding means transferring your assets into the trust’s name, retitling bank and brokerage accounts, deeding real estate, and assigning other property to the trust. This is the step people skip, and it is the most important one. A trust document sitting in a drawer controls nothing; only the assets actually titled in the trust avoid probate and follow the trust’s instructions. An unfunded trust is the single most common reason a living-trust plan fails.
How Do I Put My House in a Trust?
You record a new deed transferring the home from yourself into the trust. In Florida there are a few things to get right: homestead protections generally carry over when the trust is properly drafted, your mortgage does not get triggered (federal law, the Garn-St. Germain Act, protects transfers to your own living trust), and your homestead tax exemption should be preserved. Doing the deed wrong can jeopardize all three, which is why this is not a do-it-yourself step.
What Should I NOT Put in My Trust?
Retirement accounts (IRA, 401k) generally should not be retitled into a trust, doing so can trigger immediate income tax; instead you coordinate them through beneficiary designations. Cars are often left out for simplicity. And some assets are better handled with a beneficiary or transfer-on-death designation than retitled. Part of funding is knowing what belongs in the trust and what is better handled another way.
What if I Forget to Fund Something?
That is what a pour-over will is for: it acts as a backstop, catching anything you did not transfer during life and pouring it into the trust, though those assets may still go through probate first. The goal is to fund as completely as possible while you are alive so the pour-over rarely has to do its job. We give you a funding checklist and handle the deeds and retitling.
Updated on June 10, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. General information about Florida law, not legal or tax advice. Do not send confidential information until we have agreed to represent you.