Is this for lawyers or for clients?

Both, from opposite ends. Estate planning staff use it as the schedule they work down and hand to clients; a client doing their own funding uses it to know what “done” means for each account.

Does it cover my state?

The mechanics are general and the institutions are the same everywhere: a county recorder, a transfer agent, a custodian. What varies by state, and by county, is deed formatting, transfer tax, and reassessment, and the guide sends those to counsel rather than guessing.

Does it tell me what to put in the trust?

No. That decision is your counsel’s, and the guide starts after it. What it covers is the execution: how each asset actually moves and what evidence closes it.

Is a trust funded once and then finished?

That assumption is the most common way funding fails. The guide ends with an annual re-check, because accounts opened after the signing are the assets most often left out.

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Funding a revocable trust

The asset-by-asset checklist, and what counts as proof.

Signing a trust moves nothing. Funding is the separate, unglamorous work of retitling each asset to the trustee, and it is where most revocable trusts quietly fail. This guide goes asset class by asset class: what moves, who has to do it, and what the institution’s own record has to show before you can call it done.

Written for trustees, estate planning staff, and the family member doing the work · PDF, 7 pages · 9 sections, ending in a printable checklist · Free

Every section, in order

The guide follows the transaction as it actually happens rather than as it is filed. Each section names what has to be true before the next one starts.

Before you start
A signed trust moves nothing
What funding actually means
Asset by asset
The proof standard
Five ways funding quietly fails
The annual re-check
The funding checklist
Where Termn fits

From the guide: The proof standard

One section, unedited, so you can see what you are getting before you type an address. The other 8 sections read like this one.

One rule covers every asset class: the proof is the record of whoever keeps the register, not the record of whoever did the work.

This is proof	This is not
The county’s recorded deed, stamped and numbered.	A signed deed, or a receipt from the courier.
A statement showing the trustee as the registered owner.	A submitted change of ownership form.
The transfer agent’s updated registration.	The letter of instruction sent to the transfer agent.
The carrier’s written confirmation of the designation.	The completed designation form you mailed in.

Deed submitted — county recorder, 3 March

Recorded instrument returned — instrument 2026-0041882, 19 March

Retitling confirmed — trustee, against the recorded instrument, 19 March

Running one of these now? See how Termn runs Trust funding. Your first workspace is free, and nothing goes out until you send it.

Take the PDF

Emailed to you and downloadable straight away. It is yours after that: forward it, print it, put it in a client file.

Common questions

Is this for lawyers or for clients?: Both, from opposite ends. Estate planning staff use it as the schedule they work down and hand to clients; a client doing their own funding uses it to know what “done” means for each account.
Does it cover my state?: The mechanics are general and the institutions are the same everywhere: a county recorder, a transfer agent, a custodian. What varies by state, and by county, is deed formatting, transfer tax, and reassessment, and the guide sends those to counsel rather than guessing.
Does it tell me what to put in the trust?: No. That decision is your counsel’s, and the guide starts after it. What it covers is the execution: how each asset actually moves and what evidence closes it.
Is a trust funded once and then finished?: That assumption is the most common way funding fails. The guide ends with an annual re-check, because accounts opened after the signing are the assets most often left out.

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