Your Trust Maintenance Guide

Great work getting your estate plan signed! You've taken important steps to avoid probate costs and fees — and to make things easier for your loved ones. You can make things even easier for your trustee by funding your trust and keeping key information organized and updated over the years.

To send us a copy of updates (optional), email a photo to: Clienthelper@summeralllaw.com

Step 1: Let Your Trustee Know They Should Act

No one will automatically notify your trustee when they're needed — you have to tell them. We recommend you:

• Send your trustees a copy of the trust. If the first trustee is a professional fiduciary to be selected later, send copies to trust protectors, health care agents, and legal guardians instead.
• Make sure health care agents know how to contact the trustee, and that trustees know to contact health care agents in a medical emergency.
• Let trustees know where the estate plan is stored, or send them a copy.

How Your Trustee Collects Accounts

To collect your accounts, your trustee will present your death certificate (which includes your Social Security number) to each financial institution. The institution will then pull all accounts tied to that Social Security number and release funds to the appropriate party — without court involvement — provided you funded your trust.

Our office will not contact your trustee when you pass away. We won't know you've died. Immediate family and health care agents are often contacted by police in the case of an accident, and can then reach out to any estate planning attorney for guidance.

Step 2: Fund Your Trust & Track Your Assets

For financial accounts, you have three options for avoiding probate:

• Designate the trust as a beneficiary — log into your account and search for "beneficiary form," then list the trust as the primary or contingent beneficiary.
• Title the account in the name of the trust — go to the bank with a copy of the trust or complete a notarized form. Not available on retirement, life insurance, or college savings accounts.
• Keep the account under $200,000 — if all untitled, undesignated assets total less than $200,000, your trustee can collect them through a simple process.

Beneficiary Designation Guidelines

Check your Trust Funding Summary for specifics. Generally:

• List the trust as 100% primary beneficiary unless an exception applies.
• If your spouse or partner is your primary beneficiary, keep them listed at 100% primary and list the trust as the contingent beneficiary.
• If your beneficiaries are adults or charities, consider listing them directly by name on the beneficiary form.
• If you have a special needs trust, always designate the trust as the beneficiary (or backup beneficiary if you have a spouse or partner).

Trust as Beneficiary vs. Naming Beneficiaries Directly

Special Asset Types

• Crypto: Make sure your trustee knows how to access your wallet.
• Business Interests: Ensure another signer is added if the account exceeds $200,000. Keep incorporation documents with the trust — your trustee must follow those rules. Note business partners and key employees on the contact info page.
• Start-up / Non-Publicly Traded Equity: Keep a copy of your shareholder agreement with the trust. You can title shares in the trust, but most clients rely on our general assignment clause (no action required), avoiding unnecessary legal fees.
• Elderly or Disabled Individuals: Complete a power of attorney with any bank where your trustee will manage funds on your behalf, and/or provide them with online account access.

Real Property

To avoid probate on real property, each property must either:

• Have a transfer on death deed recorded — we record any deeds we prepare; no action needed on your part. No need to notify your lender or insurance company.
• Be titled in the name of your trust — if you do this, call your homeowner's insurance and ask them to add your trust as an additional insured. If titling a non-primary-residence property, confirm with your lender first.

For out-of-state property, contact a paralegal or attorney in that state to title the property in the trust name or prepare a Transfer on Death Deed.

Step 3: Track Next-of-Kin, Beneficiaries & More

Your trustee will need to send notice to your next of kin. Next of kin is defined by California law and who is living at the time you pass away. As a starting point:

• Level 1: Any living spouse, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren — if none, then
• Level 2: Living parents, siblings, and their children — if none, then
• Level 3: Living grandparents, aunts, uncles, and their children (cousins)

Listing grandchildren and great-grandchildren is optional if their parent (your child) is still living and in good health. List them if their parent has already passed away.

Contact Info for Key People

If your trustees, beneficiaries, health care agents, guardians, and pet guardians don't all know each other — or are hard to find (e.g., living internationally with a common name) — list their contact information in the contact sheet. Even just a name and last-known city is helpful.