DIY Family Trust
- 1). Obtain all trust documents. Legal trust documents can be found in bookstores or through financial professionals or estate lawyers. Obtain a Legal Guardianship Assignment for any children under 18, a Conservator Clause, which nominates a conservator of the trust; Mental Capacity and Competency Clause, in case you, the "grantor," becomes incapacitated; and a Durable Power of Attorney for financial issues in the event you cannot make financial decisions, and a Durable Power of Attorney for health issues so that someone has the authority to make health decisions for you if you aren't able to do so yourself.
- 2). Create a detailed list of your assets. The assets held in the trust will not have to go through probate, so make sure you have details for the big items, such as property, stocks and bonds, bank accounts and valuable possessions, such as antiques. Assign a dollar amount to every asset you will transfer to the trust.
- 3). Prepare the list of beneficiaries. Get the full names of all of your beneficiaries and their spouses. Identify any special needs, such as guardianship requirements for those under 18. Identify at least two people, in order of priority, who will take on these special roles. Identify two additional individuals who will be responsible for taking over your affairs should you become incapacitated. Include all addresses and ages of the beneficiaries and guardians.
- 4). Choose a successor trustee. While you are alive and capable, you will manage the trust, but if you become incapacitated or die, you will need someone else to take over the duties of managing the trust. Discuss the prospect with the person before identifying him in the trust documents.
- 5). Prepare and sign all of the trust documents that you acquired in Step 1, in front of a notary.
- 6). Transfer the titles to all of the property listed into the trust. This process can be tedious, but it is a requirement. Sign deeds transferring the trust property. You will retain control of all of your assets until the time of your death or the time that the assets are distributed to your beneficiaries.
- 7). Store your trust documents in a safe place and tell the successor trustee where they can be found.
- 8). Fund a tax account by adding the value of all of the property you transferred into the trust and multiplying it by 20 percent. This amount should be set aside into an interest-bearing account in the trust's name.
- 9). Draw up a pour-over will. Although your trust will control the distribution of your assets, any assets that do not make it into the trust before your death will have to go through probate. A pour-over will ensure that your remaining assets are governed by the trust documents.
- 10
Update the trust with new property or accounts as they occur.
