“Funding” a revocable living trust means aligning how your assets are owned and where they pay at death so your successor trustee, not a court, can manage and distribute them under your trust instructions. In practice, that means retitling assets into the trust’s name and updating beneficiary designations to coordinate with your...
Category: Funding Your Trust
Wisconsin Estate Planning FAQ’s: Funding a Living Trust: How to Move Assets the Right Way
Signing a revocable living trust is only step one. To actually avoid probate and enable your successor trustee to act without court involvement, you must “fund” the trust. To “fund” means to align ownership and beneficiary designations with your plan so the trustee controls what the trust owns or what’s properly directed...
Wisconsin Estate Planning: Why do unfunded Revocable Living Trusts often fail in Wisconsin?
An unfunded revocable living trust is a trust that exists on paper but does not actually own your assets. It is one of the most common estate‑planning failures in Wisconsin. A trust only controls what is transferred into it. Everything else remains subject to a will or, if there is no will,...
Wisconsin Estate Planning: Why do Unfunded Revocable Living Trusts often Fail in Wisconsin?
An unfunded revocable living trust—one that exists on paper but does not actually own your assets—is one of the most common estate‑planning failures in Wisconsin. A trust only controls what is transferred into it. Everything else remains subject to a will or, if there is no will, to Wisconsin intestacy law.
Wisconsin Estate Planning: Seven Estate Planning Traps Most People Miss—and Seven Questions to Audit Your Family’s Future
Think back to how your life was seven years ago. Your family, your finances, your relationships, and even the accounts you use have probably changed in ways both obvious and subtle. Seven years does not feel like a long time until you start making the list.
Your estate plan...
How to Make An Inheritance Last
Receiving an inheritance, whether large or small, often comes with a wide range of emotions, from the grief of losing a loved one to the hope and excitement about the possibilities the inheritance may create. According to Northwestern Mutual’s 2025 Planning & Progress study, over half (57 percent) of Americans who expect...
Make Sure You Fund Your Trust!
A revocable living trust can serve as a valuable estate planning tool to help ensure that your finances remain well managed if you become incapacitated (unable to manage your affairs while you are alive) and to provide future financial security for your loved ones upon your passing. However, merely signing the trust...
Reasons You Need an Up-to-Date Estate Plan
Although we live in a world where information is easily accessible through the internet, there are still many misconceptions surrounding estate planning. Most of us do not dedicate our time to learning more about topics like estate planning, because we may not know that we need an estate plan or realize the...
Including a Limited Liability Company in Your Estate Plan
When it comes to protecting your hard-earned money and property, it is important that you have the right plan, which can include a number of tools for your unique situation. One tool that might benefit you is a limited liability company (LLC) that owns some of your accounts and property.
Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts in Estate Planning
The notion that your estate plan contains a defect would not normally be welcomed as good news. But despite the moniker, an intentionally defective grantor trust (IDGT) can be an advantageous tool for minimizing estate taxes and maximizing the money and property that are passed on to a spouse, descendants, or other...