I am a participating attorney with Trust & Will so I answer many questions about Living Trusts.
Common Questions about Living Trusts
What Do I Do Next?
If you created a Living Trust, you need to fund it. Funding the trust means retitling assets to the trust. For example, your house needs to be retitled using a quitclaim deed or a warranty deed that is recorded with the county. The original deed is required (no copies). Don’t forget to reapply for your homeowner’s tax exemption after you retitle your primary residence. You will need to sign an affidavit to accompany the homeowner’s exemption application.
Another related task is changing beneficiary designations at your bank and your brokerage company. You want to name your spouse as the primary beneficiary but your trust as the contingent beneficiary.
If you created a Living Trust in Idaho, you need to register it with your local magistrate court. An estate planning lawyer in Idaho, like myself, can file it electronically. The court document needs the trustee names, trustee addresses, settlor names, and date of the trust instrument. The Case Info Sheet that accompanies the court document needs your name, phone number, driver’s license number, and date of birth.
Can I Make Changes to My Living Trust
If you signed your trust but find mistakes later, don’t make any changes on your own. You should not cross out any language in your trust or write in any additional language. Changes should be made with a formal amendment to the trust. The amendment states what you are changing in the trust and is signed and notarized like your original trust. Keep the amendment in the same place you keep the original trust.
The exception is your Schedule of Assets or list of trust assets that may be attached to your trust document. You can make changes to the Schedule of Assets any time you move assets into or out of your Living Trust.
Other Questions about Living Trusts
The following documents need your signature, two witnesses, and notarization: an Idaho Advance Health Care Directive and a Last Will and Testament. The witnesses should not be your beneficiaries or named as agents in your documents.
These documents only need your signature and notarization: Certificate or Certification of Trust, the Trust instrument, and the Power of Attorney for Financial Affairs.
A HIPAA Authorization only needs your signature.
Questions about Living Trusts That You Should Ask
You should ask about the Idaho Power of Attorney general authority section before you check any boxes or sign the document. I think that you should choose someone you trust as your finance agent so you should give them the full authority. You don’t know what may happen to you in the future or if your agent will need certain authority if you are incapacitated so don’t handcuff them in a way that prevents them from taking care of you and your finances.