A living trust is only as effective as the assets it holds. An unfunded trust — one where assets have not been retitled into the trust name — provides none of the probate protection it was designed to give. This checklist walks through every major asset category, what needs to happen for each one, and the specific steps for California residents.
Before you start — what you need
Before contacting any institution gather:
- A certified copy of your trust document or a certificate of trust — most institutions accept the certificate of trust rather than the full trust document
- Your trust's exact legal name and date — e.g. "The Smith Family Trust, dated January 15, 2025"
- Your trustee information — typically your own name as trustee
- Your Social Security number — trusts use the grantor's SSN while revocable
A certificate of trust is a shorter document — typically 2 to 3 pages — that summarizes the key provisions of your trust without disclosing the full contents. Most financial institutions and county recorders accept it in place of the full trust.
Real estate
Step 1 — Prepare a grant deed
To transfer California real property into your trust you need to record a new grant deed. The deed must:
- Identify you as the current owner and grantor
- Identify the trust as the grantee — format: "[Your Name], Trustee of the [Trust Name], dated [Date]"
- Be signed by the current owner
- Be notarized
Logan generates the grant deed for you as part of your estate plan.
Step 2 — Complete the Preliminary Change of Ownership Report
California requires a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR) to be filed with the county recorder when any real property changes hands. Transfers into a revocable living trust are excluded from reassessment — they do not trigger a property tax increase — but the PCOR still must be filed.
Step 3 — Record with the county recorder
Take the signed and notarized deed and the completed PCOR to the county recorder's office in the county where the property is located. Recording fees vary by county but are typically $15 to $25 for the first page plus $3 per additional page. Some counties accept e-recording through services like Simplifile.
Step 4 — Notify your mortgage lender
If your property has a mortgage contact your lender before or shortly after recording the deed. Federal law — the Garn-St Germain Act — protects transfers into living trusts from due-on-sale clauses, meaning your lender cannot call the loan due because of the transfer. However notifying the lender is good practice and some lenders have their own documentation requirements.
Step 5 — Update your homeowner's insurance
Contact your homeowner's insurance carrier and add the trust as an additional insured on your policy. This ensures coverage is not affected by the change in titling.
Bank accounts — checking and savings
Step 1 — Contact your bank
Call your bank's trust department or visit a branch. Ask to retitle your account into the name of your trust. Bring your certificate of trust.
Step 2 — Complete the bank's retitling form
Most banks have their own form for retitling accounts into trusts. Complete the form with your trust's exact legal name and date.
Step 3 — Confirm the new account title
After the retitling is complete confirm that new statements and account documents show the trust as the account holder — typically formatted as "[Your Name], Trustee of the [Trust Name]."
Major bank trust department contacts:
- Chase — call 1-800-935-9935, ask for estates and trusts
- Bank of America — visit a financial center, bring certificate of trust
- Wells Fargo — call 1-800-956-4442, ask for trust services
- Chase, BofA, and Wells Fargo all allow in-branch retitling with a certificate of trust
Brokerage and investment accounts
Fidelity
Contact Fidelity's estate services team at 1-800-343-3548. Fidelity has a well-developed trust account retitling process and can typically complete the retitling without requiring you to open a new account. You will need to provide a copy of your certificate of trust and complete Fidelity's trust account form.
Schwab
Contact Schwab at 1-800-435-4000 and ask for trust and estate services. Schwab's process is similar to Fidelity — complete their trust registration form and provide your certificate of trust. Schwab typically processes retitling within a few business days.
Vanguard
Vanguard's trust retitling process requires completing their Transfer of Assets to an Existing Account form and providing your certificate of trust. Contact Vanguard at 1-800-662-7447 or complete the process through your online account.
Other brokerages
Most major brokerages have a trust services team. Call the main customer service number and ask specifically for trust or estate services. Have your certificate of trust ready and ask what specific form they require.
Retirement accounts — do not transfer
IRAs, 401ks, Roth IRAs, 403bs, pensions, and similar retirement accounts should not be retitled into your trust. Doing so is treated as a taxable distribution and triggers immediate income tax on the full account value.
Instead update your beneficiary designations:
How to update beneficiary designations
- Log into your account portal at each retirement account provider
- Find the beneficiary designation section — typically under account settings or profile
- Update the primary beneficiary to the person or persons you want to inherit the account
- Add contingent beneficiaries in case your primary beneficiary predeceases you
- Download or print confirmation of the updated designation and keep it with your estate planning documents
Should I name my trust as beneficiary of my retirement account?
For most people naming individuals directly as beneficiaries of retirement accounts is simpler and provides more flexibility for inherited IRA rules. However there are situations — minor children, beneficiaries with special needs, or complex distribution wishes — where naming a trust as beneficiary may be appropriate. This is a situation where consulting an estate planning attorney is worth the time.
Life insurance
Life insurance passes through beneficiary designations, not through the trust. Contact your insurance carrier to review and update your beneficiary designations.
How to update life insurance beneficiary designations
- Contact your insurance carrier — call the customer service number on your policy
- Request a change of beneficiary form
- Complete the form naming your beneficiaries with their full legal names, relationships, and Social Security numbers
- Return the completed form to the carrier and request written confirmation
Vehicles
California vehicles can be transferred into a trust through the DMV. You will need:
- The current vehicle title
- A Statement of Facts form (REG 256) available at the DMV or online
- Pay the transfer fee
For most families vehicles are a lower priority given their relatively modest value compared to real estate and financial accounts. Many families choose to leave vehicles out of the trust and handle them through a small estate affidavit at death.
Business interests
Transferring business interests into a trust depends on the entity type:
LLC interests
Review your LLC's operating agreement to determine if a transfer to a trust requires consent from other members. In many single-member LLCs the transfer can be completed by amending the operating agreement to reflect the trust as the new member, or by preparing an assignment of membership interest to the trust.
Corporate shares
Transfer corporate shares into the trust by having new stock certificates issued in the trust's name. The existing certificates should be cancelled and reissued.
Complex business interests
For businesses with multiple owners, complex operating agreements, or significant value consult an estate planning attorney before making the transfer. Improper transfers can trigger unintended tax consequences or violate existing agreements.
Digital assets
Digital assets do not transfer into the trust through a formal retitling process. Instead document them in your estate plan so your successor trustee knows what exists and how to access it. For background see our guide on what happens to your crypto and social media accounts when you die.
For each digital asset record:
- Account name and platform
- Approximate value
- Storage method for cryptocurrency — hardware wallet, exchange, software wallet
- Where recovery information is stored — not the credentials themselves, but where to find them
- Your wishes for social media accounts — memorialized, deleted, or transferred
Keep this information in your Logan digital asset inventory, updated as accounts change.
Tracking your funding progress
After completing each transfer update your schedule of assets to note that the transfer is complete. Keep copies of:
- Recorded deeds and confirmation from the county recorder
- Account statements showing the trust as the new account holder
- Beneficiary designation confirmation letters from retirement and insurance providers
Review your funding status annually and any time you acquire new assets.
Logan's trust funding guidance
Logan tracks every asset in your asset inventory and shows a real-time trust funding score. For each unfunded asset Logan provides the specific next steps — who to call, what to say, what document to bring. For real estate Logan generates the grant deed and provides county-specific recording instructions.