Funding Your Florida Trust: Why It Matters and How to Do It Right

Jason Quick
1 day ago
3 min read

You have made a Florida living trust. You feel relieved, knowing you’ve taken an important step to protect your family and avoid probate. You've done the right thing.

But here’s what many Floridians don’t realize — a trust is like an empty container until you fund it. Without funding, your plan won’t work the way you intended. Our office has had to handle probate cases where our client made a trust but failed to put all of the property in the trust.

What “Funding Your Trust” Really Means

Think of your trust like a new bank account. It is an empty bucket. Just opening the account doesn’t move your money in — you have to make deposits.

Funding your trust means either:

Transferring ownership of your assets into the trust’s name, or
Naming the trust as the beneficiary of certain accounts like life insurance or retirement plans.

When you leave your attorney’s office, you typically receive:

Your full trust document (30+ pages)
A certificate of trust (a short legal summary)

That certificate is your key. Under Florida law, banks and financial institutions must accept it as proof of your trust — they can’t demand to see your full trust document, which helps maintain your privacy.

Two Main Ways to Fund Your Trust

1. Direct Ownership Transfers

For most assets, you’ll retitle them into the name of your trust. For example, a bank account in “John Smith” would become:

John Smith, Trustee of the John Smith Revocable Trust dated [date]

2. Beneficiary Designations

Some assets, such as retirement accounts, can’t be retitled but can list your trust as the beneficiary. Common examples include:

Life insurance policies
IRAs and 401(k)s
Other retirement accounts

Your Florida Trust Funding Checklist

Financial Accounts

Banks, credit unions, and investment firms each have their own paperwork — but they handle these requests all the time. Here’s what to do:

Contact each institution where you hold accounts
Bring your certificate of trust
Complete their forms
Decide whether to retitle the account or make the trust a pay-on-death beneficiary

Your attorney can help you decide which approach is best for your situation, especially for joint accounts. Also, please be advised that some institutions will not allow a trust to be listed as beneficiary and will require the account be re-titled as a trust account (Capital One, for example).

Real Estate

For Florida real estate, you’ll need a new deed prepared and recorded in the county where the property is located.

Homestead property – Placing it in your trust won’t affect your homestead exemption, but it is often better to execute a ladybird deed to transfer the property at death.
Investment properties – Ask your attorney whether adding an LLC structure would be a better fit for added protection. We have legal strategies to transfer LLC's at death, if necessary, into the trust.

Life Insurance and Retirement Accounts

These require beneficiary designation changes, not ownership transfers.

Contact the insurance company or retirement plan administrator
Complete their beneficiary forms naming the trust
Keep copies of everything for your records

Why Funding Your Trust Is Critical

Florida’s probate process, while not the worst in the country, can still be time-consuming and expensive. A properly funded trust allows your assets to transfer quickly and privately to your beneficiaries, often saving thousands of dollars and months of delay.

For families planning ahead for long-term care, fully funding a Medicaid asset protection trust can also preserve wealth while allowing you to qualify for benefits when the time comes.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Doing Nothing
Leaving Out Assets Inadvertently – Even one asset left outside the trust can trigger probate for that asset.
DIY Errors – Small mistakes can undo careful planning. Always consult your attorney for guidance.

The Difference Proper Funding Makes

When your trust is fully funded, your successor trustee can step in immediately to pay bills, support your family, and distribute assets as you intended — without court involvement.

It also allows for seamless financial management if you become incapacitated, avoiding the need for a court-ordered guardianship.