Funding a trust means actually connecting your assets to it: deeding the house into the trust, retitling accounts, and updating designations so everything either sits in the trust or points at it. The trust document is the rulebook; funding is what puts players on the field.
This is where estate plans quietly fail. A signed, notarized, beautifully drafted trust that never gets funded controls nothing - the estate it was meant to protect goes through probate anyway, and the family finds out at the worst moment.
The usual pattern: real estate is deeded in, taxable accounts are retitled, and retirement accounts and life insurance stay in your name with beneficiaries updated - retirement accounts have tax rules that make retitling them a mistake. A funding session with a professional, done once and reviewed after big life changes, is the whole discipline.
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Educational information only, not legal advice. Terms have statutory details beyond these summaries - confirm your situation with a licensed professional.