Checking Accounts/Savings Accounts/CD’s/Stocks/Mutual Funds: The name of the current owner on these assets will change to the name of the Trust.  You will probably  have to do this in person for checking accounts and savings accounts as the bank will want you to sign a new signature card.  Instead of signing the checks as Joe Smith you will sign them as Joe Smith, Trustee.  Before doing this with your CD accounts, check with the bank if they will impose a penalty if you transfer it before the period has run.

L ife Insurance: You will remain as the named owner on the Life Insurance Policy.  You will request that the Revocable Living Trust be named as the beneficiary.

Annuity:  It is recommended that if you are married that the spouse remain as the primary beneficiary and if you have children, they should be named as secondary beneficiaries.  This is due to the fact that there are certain options available to a spouse that are not available to a Living Trust.

IRA: If between a husband and wife, then  the ownership must remain in the name of one of the spouses and the primary beneficiary as the surviving spouse.  The Revocable Living Trust can be made the secondary beneficiary.  You MUST check with your CPA to determine if there are any income tax consequences to these changes.

Personal Property: Typically any property that does not have a physical title (such as household furnishings, jewelry, clothes, etc.) is handled by a document called “Assignment of Furniture, Furnishings and Personal Effects”.  This document is signed at the time your Revocable Living Trust is signed.  Not only does it transfer the assets you currently have into the Revocable Living Trust but it also transfers any future property of that nature.

Real Property:  The deed will be re-recorded with the name of the Revocable Living Trust as the owner.  You should contact you insurance company prior to making this change to determine if they will allow a Revocable Living Trust to be a secondary insured on the policy.  You should check with your mortgage company as well.

Although North Carolina does not require residency in North Carolina to prepare a Last Will and Testament, I advised her to have her Estate Plan prepared by an attorney in her current state of residence.  Below I have listed a few reasons why I turned business away!

1.  I am not licensed nor familiar in any way with the drafting requirements in her current state of residency.  If I was to prepare the Last Will and Testament, I would need to be certain that it was properly drafted to probate the estate in her current state of residency.  This would require research and contact with the State Bar where she currently lives which would have potentially not been cost effective for her.

2.  The only connection to (asset in) North Carolina was a home. This being the case, probate would be filed in her current state of residency. Then there would be an Ancillary Probate filed in North Carolina to pass on the home.  This is a quicker and some what simpler type of Probate.

3.  North Carolina has specific requirements on the procedures that must be followed by the witnesses when witnessing a Last Will and Testament.  In addition, there are rules that a Notary has to follow.  I did not feel comfortable drafting a Last Will and Testament and then sending it off to be signed, witnessed and notarized without my supervision.

This was my recommendation based on the specific situation of this particular client.  When a client seeks my advice, I evaluate that client’s particular situation on an individual basis.  I may counsel another client differently based on the particular situation.