Living trusts are a common tool for the estate planner, used to facilitate a client’s estate tax savings or to provide for potential incapacity and avoid probate. However, the purposes of both revocable and irrevocable living trusts cannot be accomplished unless all property that the trust was intended to hold is actually owned by the trustee.

Many living trusts are totally or partially unfunded, which defeats the original purpose for creating the trust and leads to additional expense and delay during the lifetime or upon the death of the client.

The Funding of Living Trusts is an expert guide to supervising and accomplishing the funding process—an important yet often overlooked aspect of creating a living trust. This manual covers all aspects of funding a trust, providing a ready reference with expert advice on complex issues for seasoned practitioners as well as a practical resource to the basics for newer attorneys and staff members.

The Funding of Living Trusts also includes many examples of sample forms used to fund a trust and shows how they should be filled out correctly, providing models that can be used by office assistants who frequently do the bulk of the paperwork in trust funding.

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Necessity for Formal Transfer of Title
Chapter 3: General Funding Consideration 
Chapter 4: Overview of the Funding Process 
Chapter 5: Funding Trusts with Specific Assets by Transfer of Ownership or Beneficiary Designation

Carla Neeley Freitag is a tax consultant and author of legal materials with offices in Cape Canaveral, Florida. She specializes in federal taxation, estate planning, and exempt organizations. Freitag is admitted to practice in Florida, Texas, and Georgia.

Freitag is a native Floridian who grew up in Delray Beach, Florida. She received her B.A. degree from Duke University and an LL.M. degree in Taxation from the University of Miami. While in law school, Freitag served as Executive Editor of the University of Florida Law Review. Freitag began her legal career with the firm of King & Spalding LLP in Atlanta, practicing corporate, tax, and estate planning law. She subsequently taught in the J.D. and LL.M. programs at Southern Methodist University School of Law. Upon returning to Florida, Freitag joined the firm of Amari & Theriac, PA, in Cocoa, Florida, where she represented tax and estate planning clients. She subsequently closed her law practice in order to devote more time to writing. Freitag is a member of the American Bar Association and the Brevard County Estate Planning Council.

Format: 7x10" Softcover
Copyright: 2004
Pages: 224
ISBN: 978-1-59031-327-5
Publisher: American Bar Association