Trust Funding

If you hold publicly traded stocks and bonds that are already in brokerage or investment accounts, contact your brokers or custodians and direct them to change the title of the accounts to the name of your trust. The procedure for doing so is the same as the procedure for retitling cash accounts explained above. You may have to complete new account applications and present a copy of your Affidavit or Certification of Trust in order to change the title. Title to the accounts should be in the trust name.

After changing title, your next account statement will confirm the retitling by listing you as Trustee of your trust. Please put a copy of this account statement in the TRUST ASSETS section of your Revocable Trust Portfolio.

If you possess original stock or bond certificates, there are two ways to transfer the certificates to your trust.

Open a brokerage or investment account in the name of your Revocable Trust and deposit your original certificates in the account. (You may later have your broker deliver the certificates to you made out in the name of the trust if you wish.) Your future account statements, titled in the name of your Revocable Trust, will prove your ownership of the transferred stock or bonds. Please be sure to put a copy of an account statement proving ownership by the trust into the TRUST ASSETS section of your Revocable Trust Portfolio.

Work directly with the transfer agent for the stock or bond and direct the agent to reissue your stock with your Revocable Trust named as the new owner. Please be sure to put a copy of both the front and back of the new bond or stock certificate in the TRUST ASSETS section of your Revocable Trust Portfolio.

Transferring or assigning stock options requires a careful analysis of the tax and legal issues. We recommend you ask your Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and your stock plan administrator about your choices in assigning your interests to your Revocable Trust. If you would like us to assist you, we would be willing to do so under a separate representation agreement.

Tangible personal property refers to such items as household furnishings, appliances, works of art, motor vehicles, pictures, collectibles, personal wearing apparel and jewelry, books, sporting goods, and hobby paraphernalia. Ownership of tangible personal property can be transferred to a Revocable Trust with a written assignment. Please put a copy of the assignment in the TRUST ASSETS section of your Revocable Trust Portfolio.

Your personal vehicles can be titled in the name of your Revocable Trust, but we find that most of our clients prefer to leave their vehicles outside their trust for several reasons. One, if they have a vehicle accident, the fact they have a Revocable Trust could cause the other parties to the accident to assume they have deep pockets and encourage a lawsuit. Second, heirs can usually transfer vehicles without formal probate proceedings. If you decide to title your vehicle in the name of your trust, consult your casualty insurance agent to make certain the transfer will not result in a business rating on your insurance policy that would increase your premiums. If you have fewer than four titles, then it is not necessary to transfer vehicles into your trust as it will not trigger a probate in Utah.

You should never transfer the ownership of a qualified retirement or pension plan or individual retirement account to your Revocable Trust. Instead, if you have pre-retirement death benefits under such a plan, our general recommendation is that you choose from among your spouse, children, or partner as primary and contingent beneficiaries.

Making the proper beneficiary designations for retirement plans involve many complex tax and individual family issues. Therefore, making a recommendation without further consultation is difficult. You have many trade-offs to consider in naming your beneficiaries–tradeoffs that affect your required minimum distributions and the taxation of your benefits after your death.

If you would like to discuss the issues and solutions for designating your retirement plan beneficiaries to best match your unique goals, we would be pleased to do so. But additional planning must be done under a subsequent written representation agreement.

Your retirement plan administrator should send you a letter confirming the change of beneficiaries in your retirement plan records. Please put a copy of this confirmation letter in the TRUST ASSETS section of your Revocable Trust Portfolio.1

Transferring a 529 plan to your Revocable Trust often makes sense, but your trust must contain specific language enabling the Trustee to manage the account. We recommend that you contact us before naming your trust as an owner of a 529 plan.

You may want to tax-proof your major life insurance policies by creating one or more irrevocable life insurance trusts. In any event, you will probably want some policy proceeds paid directly to your Revocable Trust. Please consult with us so we can help you determine the proper ownership and beneficiary designation for each.

If you decide to name your Revocable Trust as the beneficiary of a policy, here are several points you should consider.

Your policy beneficiary designation, not your Will and Revocable Trust, controls the disposition of the policy benefits.

Generally, you should designate your Revocable Trust as the beneficiary of your life insurance policies so the policy proceeds will be governed by the terms of the Revocable Trust. To do so, we recommend you advise your insurance agent that you want your Revocable Trust as the beneficiary. Your agent will make the change for you or provide you the beneficiary designation form for you to complete.

If you name your Revocable Trust as the primary beneficiary, you should name your spouse, partner, or children as the secondary beneficiary.

Each insurance company will have its own preferred format for designating your Revocable Trust as the beneficiary. Here is a typical format:

Primary Beneficiary: FULL NAME OF TRUST, dated DATE TRUST ORIGINALLY SIGNED

Secondary Beneficiary: Spouse, partner, children, or other heirs.

Your insurance company should send you a letter confirming the change of beneficiaries in your insurance policy or annuity records. Please put a copy of this confirmation letter in the TRUST ASSETS section of your Revocable Trust Portfolio.2

If you have loaned money to anyone, you should assign your interest as lender to your Revocable Trust by a written document and notify your debtor of the assignment. We can prepare assignment documents for each interest for your signature. Please put a copy of each assignment in the TRUST ASSETS section of your Revocable Trust Portfolio.

If there are no restrictions in your general partnership agreement, your interest in the general partnership should be transferred through a written assignment of interest signed by you and acknowledged by your partners. Transfer of an interest in a limited partnership is accomplished in the same way as the transfer of a general partnership interest.

We can prepare assignment documents for each interest for your signature. Please put a copy of each assignment in the TRUST ASSETS section of your Revocable Trust Portfolio.

You should contact your corporate counsel or ask us to assist you in transferring your professional business interests to the Revocable Trust.

If your business is a corporation, you will have to cancel shares held in your name and reissue them in your name as Trustee of your Revocable Trust. Please put a copy of both the front and back of the new stock certificate in the TRUST ASSETS section of your Revocable Trust Portfolio.

If your business is a limited liability company, we can draft assignment documents to assign your interest to your Revocable Trust. Please put a copy of the assignment in the TRUST ASSETS section of your Revocable Trust Portfolio.

A sole proprietorship is a business entity owned by one person. Ownership of a sole proprietorship can be transferred to a Revocable Trust with a written assignment of interest. All items of tangible personal property should be listed individually or by category in the assignment. Please put a copy of the assignment in the TRUST ASSETS section of your Revocable Trust Portfolio.

The method of transferring interests in oil, minerals, and gas depends on whether you own or lease the interests. Generally, if you own the interests, you should record a deed that titles your interests to your Revocable Trust. If your interest is a lease, you should assign your rights as a lessee to your Revocable Trust by a written assignment. Please put a copy of the deed or assignment in the TRUST ASSETS section of your Revocable Trust Portfolio.

Transferring your real property to your trust will require attention to ownership and tax issues based on the nature of the current title to the property. Ultimately, the transfer will require preparing, executing, and recording new deeds for each property. This should be done through an attorney. At your request, we will assist you with this. Please put a copy of each deed in the TRUST ASSETS section of your Revocable Trust Portfolio.

Regarding your homeowner’s policy, contact your insurance provider to discuss adding your trust as an additional endorsee on your policy.

If you are the beneficiary of an estate of someone who has already died, or if you are a plaintiff in a lawsuit, you can assign your interest in the estate or lawsuit to your Revocable Trust in case you are disabled or die before receiving distributions or payments. Please put a copy of the assignment in the TRUST ASSETS section of your Revocable Trust Portfolio.

What you need:

1. Original title for the vehicle

2. Form TC-656 – Vehicle Application for Utah Title

3. $10.00 money order (if mailing application in). If you’re going in person, you can pay with a credit or debit card. Make sure to schedule an appointment online before heading in.

4. Copy of the Certificate of Trust

FAQs
Q: When do you need to transfer your vehicles to your trust?

A: When you own more than 4 boats, motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, or any other vehicle with a title (RV, ATV, motorcycle, etc.)

Q: How should I change the title of my vehicle?

A: You should likely hold title jointly with yourself individually and your trust

Q: Why should you transfer vehicles to your trust? A: Utah law allows the transfer of four or less vehicles after someone has died without triggering a probate of their estate.

Q: If my family member died with four or less vehicles, how do I transfer title to the successor(s)?

A: You must present an affidavit to the DMV and pay any necessary fees. You can use their form found on their website.