Is your trust actually holding anything?

What we find

Schedules left blank. The Florida home bought in your own names, or in one spouse's trust. Brokerage accounts opened in Florida in individual names. A summer house in the old state still titled to you personally.

Retirement accounts, annuities, and life insurance pass by beneficiary designation, outside the will and trust entirely. If the designation is out of date, the plan does not reach the money.

Property you still own up north

When a Florida resident dies owning real estate in another state, that state usually requires its own court proceeding, called ancillary administration, under its own law. A deed into your trust while you are living generally avoids it. Some states also tax real estate located there even when the owner lived in Florida.

How we Floridize it

We map what you own, how it is titled, and who is named on each designation, then show where each asset would go at the first death and at the second. You leave with funding letters and deeds, so the plan holds what it is supposed to hold.

Common questions

Does having a trust mean I avoid probate?

Only for assets the trust actually holds or that are payable to it. Anything left in your individual name may still go through probate.

Will my house in another state go through probate there?

Usually, if it is in your individual name when you die. Deeding it into your trust while you are living generally avoids that second proceeding.