Should I Place My Trust Book in a Safe Deposit Box?
Should I Give A Copy of My Trust to The Successor Trustee?
How do People Know I have a Trust?
I always get questions revolving around the idea of how do people know I have a trust, and where should I store it and isn’t it filed with the government?
TRUSTS ARE PRIVATE DOCUMENTS AND NOT REGISTERED ANYWHERE
Trusts and Wills are private documents are not registered or recorded with the County of any other governmental agency. Unlike some countries such as India where Wills are registered with the government, these documents are completely confidential and are not made public.
KEEP THE TRUST DOCUMENTS IN A LEATHER ZIPPER NOTEBOOK IN YOUR HOME
Since your Will and Trust book is something you keep your whole life you want to keep it in your home. You can review it over the years and also update financial account numbers and other personal information yourself. My Will and Trust package is really designed as a “Life Book” where you provide for your love ones after passing, but also the trust book is where you keep your important financial account information up to date, add in any meaningful letters or instructions to your heirs, and generally keep your life information up to date. There is really no need to keep it in a safe deposit book especially if you give a PDF copy to the successor trustee as described below.
GIVE A PDF COPY OF THE TRUST AGREEMENT TO YOUR SUCCESSOR
TRUSTEE
The Trust Agreement itself is the only document that is used 90% of the time. The rest of the documents in the book are really back up documents since the trust is meant to last a lifetime. It also has your medical information. If you obtain a PDF copy of the trust and give it to the successor trustee, odds are the successor trustee will never actually need the trust book itself to carry out the majority of his or her duties. Hence, if you email the successor trustee the PDF you are protected against the trust book being lost. Note that a PDF copy is legally sufficient for the trust, whereas the Will requires the original. Remember, the Will is just a backup document.
GRANT DEED IS RECORDED PUBLICLY
Only the Grant Deed is recorded with the County Recorder that transfers your real estate to your trust. The grant deed does mention the name of the trust, and usually the attorney or firm that drafted the deed. Hence, there is paper trial that would put your heirs on notice that you do have a trust and possibly even the name of the law firm they can reach out to.
Call Tony Bayard de Volo, Esq. at 408-288-5431 for a free consultation. www.vololaw.com - San Jose, California.