Trust funding & asset coordination
Signing a trust is the beginning. Funding is what makes it work. We handle the deeds, the retitling, and the beneficiary designations.
This is the part of estate planning that most firms hand back to the client in a checklist, and it is the reason so many trusts fail to do their job. A trust only controls what it owns. Assets left titled in your individual name pass outside the trust and straight into the probate process the trust was created to avoid.
Funding means retitling. Your home moves by recorded deed. Bank and brokerage accounts are re-registered in the name of the trust. Retirement accounts and life insurance stay in your name but their beneficiary designations are reviewed and, where appropriate, updated. Business interests are assigned.
We do this work with you. When you leave our office, your plan is signed, connected to your assets and working.
What this covers
Real property deeds
Preparation and recording with the Bureau of Conveyances or Land Court, including any required conveyance tax filing.
Financial account retitling
Letters of instruction and coordination with your bank, credit union, or brokerage.
Beneficiary designation review
A line-by-line review of retirement accounts, annuities, and life insurance, which a trust cannot absorb on its own.
Business interest assignment
Assignment of LLC membership interests or closely held shares, coordinated with your operating agreement.
Funding audit and confirmation
A written summary of what is in the trust, what is outside it, and why, so you and your successor trustee both know.
Decisions we’ll work through together
Retirement accounts are the common trap
Naming a trust as beneficiary of an IRA has real tax consequences under current distribution rules. Sometimes it is right; often it is not. This needs deliberate analysis.
Newly acquired assets
Anything you buy after signing needs to be titled correctly from the start. We give you the language to use.
Land Court property
A meaningful share of Hawaii real estate is registered in Land Court, which has its own procedures. We handle both systems.
Frequently asked
How long does funding take?+
Deed recording is typically a few weeks. Financial institutions vary. Most plans are fully funded within sixty days of signing.
Will transferring my home trigger a property tax reassessment?+
A transfer to your own revocable trust is generally not a change in ownership for county real property tax purposes, and homeowner exemptions usually carry over. We confirm the exemption status as part of the transfer.
I already have a trust. Can you check whether it is funded?+
Yes. A funding audit is one of the most common reasons people come to us, and the result is often reassuring. Sometimes it is urgent.
Book a consultation
The first meeting is complimentary. Tell us about your family and your property, and we’ll explain which documents fit and what the flat fee would be.
Complimentary initial consultation · Flat-fee quotes · In person on Maui or by video