Do these things now so administering your trust is smoother later

Establishing your Oregon trust is a big step, but the tasks you handle afterward are even more important. After all, a trust doesn’t take care of itself, and nothing winds up inside the trust without some work from you. Here are the next things to do after you set up your Oregon trust. Doing them now can make managing the trust easier now, as well as administering it later as the trust’s assets are distributed.

Why is it important to take care of your Oregon trust now?

The goal of your Oregon trust is to provide assets and benefits for those set up as beneficiaries under the terms of the trust. Some trusts are set up to provide benefits to others while you, the trustor or creator of the trust, are still alive. Trusts also provide benefits after you have passed away.

That’s why the more you can set up your Oregon trust for success now, the smoother it can be for your trust’s trustees to administer, distribute, and fulfill the terms and assets of the trust.

Once you’ve set up an Oregon trust, here are 5 things to do

1. Add assets to fund the trust

“Funding the trust” is an essential next step. After all, a trust without assets is like an empty house. Now that the trust is set up, funding the trust means assigning the trust ownership of the financial, property, and other assets.

Plus, if the trust doesn’t own assets you intended to be part of the trust, those assets will pass through standard probate. Since trusts can administer assets typically without going through probate, funding the trust helps you avoid probate for those assets.

Trusts can only distribute assets owned by the trust. In order to fund the trust, you first have to transfer assets from your ownership to the ownership of the trust. Then, when the time is right, the trustees who administer and fulfill the terms of the trust can distribute the assets.

Here are some examples of assets that you might transfer from your own personal or joint ownership, to ownership by the trust:

• Bank accounts (such as checking and savings accounts)
• Retirement and/or investment accounts
• Life insurance beneficiaries
• Real estate deeds
• Vehicles
• Interests in businesses
• Other relevant personal or real property

2. Inform relevant parties about assets transfers

When funding the trust, parties relevant to the transferred assets need to be in the know about the transfers. As you transfer assets into the trust, you’ll want to inform parties of the transfer, such as:

• Insurance companies
• The financial and/or investment institutions where accounts are held
• Business partners
• Creditors for assets that have outstanding debts (such as a car with an auto loan, or a home with a mortgage)

3. Organize relevant documents, store them in a secure place, and inform relevant trust parties on where to find them

Your trust and assets relevant to your trust will also have digital and printed documents that are essential to proper record-keeping, not to mention management and administration of the trust.

Organizing your relevant documents in one place can make trust management and administration much easier for yourself and for trustees. For any printed documents, it can be a good idea to scan them, so you have a digital backup. The documents can be stored in a secure location, such as a fireproof safe, and/or you might keep the primary set of documents or a copy with a trusted person, such as your attorney.

Relevant documents to gather, organize, and securely store might include:

• The legal documents that establish and manage the trust
• Deeds and titles for property
• Statements for all financial accounts, including savings, checking, and investments
• Life insurance policies
• An itemized list of trust-owned assets that describes the items and last-known locations

In addition to organizing and securely storing your trust-related documents, the right people need to know where to find them, such as your attorney, successor trustee, and/or other trusted parties.

4. Establish a Pour-Over Will

While it’s important to be diligent about keeping your trust and trust assets up to date, there’s a handy way to account for other assets.

A “pour-over will” can help direct assets into your trust after your death. This specific type of will can instruct that assets not currently in the trust can be added to the trust.

5. Occasionally review your trust and update it as needed

You’ll want your trust to reflect your assets and wishes as best as you can. That means that now and again, it’ll be good to occasionally review your trust, and update it as necessary.

Typically, it can be useful to review your trust, documents, and assets around every three to five years. If you have a major life change (e.g., deaths, changes in finances or assets, birth, divorce, adoptions, etc.), that is also a time to review and update your trust and its allocations.

If your life and circumstances are in the midst of more constant change, you can review more regularly as necessary, such as every six to twelve months.

Take care of your Oregon trust, and it can take care of those you want it to benefit

Setting up your Oregon trust is a major step to setting out your preferences on how your assets benefit those designated in your trust. However, setting up your trust isn’t the end of the process. By funding your trust, occasionally reviewing and updating its trusts, updating your assets, and organizing your documents, you can gain greater peace of mind that your affairs are in order. Plus, you can have more assurance that your trust will benefit those you want it to benefit, whether that’s during your lifetime or after your death.

Do you need to discuss establishing, managing, or administering your Oregon trust?

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay