Making the Most Out of Your Trust: The Schedule of Assets

A trust schedule of assets is a useful tool regardless of the type of trust you are creating. Anyone beginning the estate planning process in New York can expect to create one or more trusts as part of that process. The individual trusts you create will afford you specific benefits depending on the type you choose, but all of them require similar steps. The trust schedule of assets is a tool you can use to help you ensure you go about the trust creation process effectively. Here is what you should know about the trust schedule of assets.

Starting With the Foundation

Choosing the type of trust that is appropriate to your needs involves two key steps. First, you will want to determine the kinds of property you currently own. Whether you have extensive investments, real estate, or highly valuable personal property, creating an inventory of your property is essential.

Once you have a complete inventory, you and your attorney can then evaluate your assets in light of the estate planning goals you have chosen. Depending on your circumstances, creating one or more trusts to help you accomplish your goals might be something you need to do. Though your attorney will provide you with advice about the kinds of trust available to you, you will have to decide what tools you wish to create. You will then have to go through the process of transferring some or all of your property into those trusts. This process is known as funding.

Building the House

With your inventory in place, you can then begin creating your schedule of assets. The trust schedule of assets consists of all of the property you plan on transferring into each trust’s name.

If you have extensive property holdings, you should probably divide your schedule into different sections, such as one for real estate, one for investments, and one for personal property. Once you have identified each of the assets you intend to transfer into the trust, you can then use the schedule as a checklist. As you go about the funding process, you can check off each asset that you transfer into the trust’s name.

Making Renovations to Your Trust Schedule of Assets

After you have completed the initial funding process, you will then be able to use your trust inventory as a tool to help your trustee manage the trust property. The trustee will need to know what the trust owns, and by consulting the trust inventory, he or she will be able to quickly and easily review the trust holdings.

As time goes on your trust might acquire new property or shed some of its old property. This will require your trustee to update the schedule of assets as needed.  Of course, creating a schedule of assets is not enough to ensure that your trust is properly funded. Each individual piece of property will need to meet specific requirements before the trust can become the new legal owner.