How to Fund a Living Trust Correctly in Palm Beach, FL

Imagine a retired couple in a gated community off Okeechobee Boulevard who paid an attorney to draft a beautiful revocable living trust. Years later, after one spouse passes, the family discovers the trust controls almost nothing. The condo, the brokerage account, and the boat slip on the Intracoastal were never retitled. The result? A full probate in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, exactly what they paid to avoid. That gap has a name: an unfunded trust.

What “Funding” Actually Means

In Florida, creating a revocable trust under Chapter 736 is only half the job. The trust governs only the property you actually transfer into it. Funding is the process of changing legal title from your individual name to yourself as trustee, for example, from “Maria Lopez” to “Maria Lopez, Trustee of the Lopez Family Trust.” Until you do this, the document is just paper, and your assets still pass through probate.

Real Estate: Your Palm Beach Home

For a primary residence, Florida homestead protection (Article X, Section 4 of the state constitution) interacts with trusts in nuanced ways, so the deed must be prepared carefully. Many Palm Beach owners use a new deed transferring the property to the trust, while others choose a Lady Bird (enhanced life estate) deed to keep homestead benefits and the property out of probate without giving up control during life. A vacation condo in Singer Island or a rental near CityPlace is usually deeded directly into the trust. Recording the new deed with the Palm Beach County Clerk is what makes the transfer official.

Bank and Investment Accounts

Walk into your bank or call your brokerage and ask to retitle accounts into the name of the trust. Bring the certification of trust your attorney prepared. For some accounts, owners instead use payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designations, which also avoid probate but bypass the trust’s instructions, so coordinate the two so they do not conflict.

Beneficiary-Driven Assets Need a Different Touch

Life insurance, IRAs, 401(k)s, and annuities pass by beneficiary designation, not by the trust or your will. You generally do not retitle a retirement account into a revocable trust, doing so can trigger unwanted tax consequences. Instead, review the named beneficiaries. Naming a trust as beneficiary of an IRA is sometimes appropriate, but only with careful drafting because of distribution rules. This is a frequent place where Palm Beach families accidentally leave a trust hollow.

What People Forget

• Business interests, such as an LLC holding a Palm Beach rental.
• Vehicles and vessels, though small estates may not require these.
• Newly acquired assets, anything bought after the trust was signed.
• Safe deposit box contents and unrecorded promissory notes.

Florida has no state estate or inheritance tax, so funding is rarely about state taxes here. It is about control, privacy, and sparing your family a probate proceeding that can stretch on for months.

Keep a Funding Log

Maintain a simple schedule listing each asset and whether it is inside the trust, governed by a beneficiary form, or still individually owned. Update it whenever you buy property or open an account. Revisit it after any major Palm Beach purchase or refinance.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Funding a trust correctly under Florida law depends on your specific assets and goals. Consult a licensed Florida estate planning attorney before retitling property or signing any deed.