How do you transfer property to your trust?

Many think that a trust is like a will in that you draft a trust, indicate where your property goes when you die, sign the trust with the required formalities, and you are done. This is not the case. For your trust to be effective, your property must be transferred to the trust. This is called funding the trust. For instance, if your intent is to transfer your real property to your trust, then you must use a deed to transfer the real property to your trust. If you do not sufficiently transfer your real property to your trust, then your real property will not be in your trust.

In Flinn v. Van Devere, 502 So. 2d 454 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986), S. Grant Van Devere (“Van Devere”) tried to transfer her real property to her trust but failed to deed her real property to her trust. The court determined that the real property was not validly transferred to her trust during her life. Id. at 454. And even though the court recognized that Van Devere’s intent was to transfer her real property to her trust, the court reasoned that no supposed intent can be given effect “unless expressed in objectively sufficient ways” and they had no choice but to find that the real property was not transferred to the trust. Id. at 456.

Van Dever’s failure to transfer her real property to her trust is all too common. People think that once they form a trust, their job is done and their property will pass to their beneficiaries named in their trust. This is not the case. Always remember that your property needs to be titled in the name of your trust for your trust to be effective.

Below is a list of titled property and non-titled property that is commonly transferred to a trust along with the way to transfer the property:

Titled property – Property with title documents will need to be titled in the name of your trust. Thus, if you have titled property in your name, it will need to be transferred to your trust. For instance, if your name is John Doe and you have a revocable living trust, then your property will need to be titled as “John Doe, Trustee of the John Doe Revocable Living Trust dated January 1, 2026.” Once the property is titled in the name of your trust, your trust will own the property. Some examples of titled property include:

1. Real property – Transfer the title of your real property to your trust using a deed.
2. Vehicles – Transfer the title of the vehicle to your trust using the existing title of the vehicle. A tag agency in your county can assist you with this. Note: In Florida, it is usually not the best idea to transfer your vehicle to your trust because it could cause issues with your insurance and expose your trust assets to liability. It is also generally easy for your beneficiaries to inherit your vehicles and avoid probate without a trust.
3. Bank accounts – You can change the name of your bank account to your name as trustee of your trust or appoint your trust as the beneficiary of your account.
4. Safe deposit boxes – Your bank should have a form for you to fill out to change ownership of your safe deposit box to your trust.
5. Stocks and Bonds – You can change the ownership of your brokerage account to your name as trustee of your trust or appoint your trust as the beneficiary of your account. Speak with your brokerage company to accomplish this.
6. Corporate shares – Your corporation may have specific instructions to accomplish this. In general, you will likely need to reissue a stock certificate in your name as trustee and have a resolution signed where you transfer your shares to your trust.
7. Limited liability company interest – Your operating agreement will likely provide instructions for transferring membership interest. If it does not or you do not have an operating agreement, then you will likely just need all members to sign a resolution authorizing you to transfer your shares to your trust. You could also consider adding a transfer on death provision to your operating agreement that transfers your membership interest to your trust when you pass away.
8. Copyrights – List the copyright in your trust, sign a document that transfers your rights to the copyright to your self as trustee, and file the document with the U.S. Copyright Office.
9. Patents – Prepare an assignment of the patent to assign it to your name as trustee of your trust and record it with the Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, DC.

Non-titled property – Non-titled property is easier than titled property to transfer to your trust. You will need to prepare an assignment that lists the non-titled property you want to include in your trust, sign the assignment, and keep it with your trust. The assignment does not need to be notarized. Some examples of non-titled property include:

1. Artwork;
2. Appliances;
3. Furniture;
4. Jewelry;
5. Tools; and
6. Personal items, such as clothing, dishes, silverware, etc.