 Signing your living trust is just the beginning. Now it's time to learn how to add important assets to that living trust and how to keep proper trust records. You have, or will soon have, two hard copies of your estate plan, the bound original set and the bound copy set. Follow these simple record keeping rules for each set of these documents. Whatever you do for one set, you should do for the other set as well. Okay, let's get started. Here is our office's three trust record keeping rules. Rule one, use the certification of trust you were given or soon will be given to be sure that each trust asset is properly titled into the name of the trust. Whether it's a home or a bank account or a non-Ira investment account, each asset must be correctly titled in the name of the trust. By way of example, if the certification of trust lists the correct title as Gary A. Sample and Patricia B. Sample as trustees of the Sample Family Trust dated October 15, 2018, then a D to the house must be in that same correct title. Rule one then is to make sure that each trust asset agrees with the title listed in the certification of trust. Rule two, now that an asset is correctly titled in the name of the trust, rule two is to make sure you record that asset on the schedule A of the trust. If we're talking about a house, you must write a brief description of that house as a trust asset on the trust schedule A. If it's a bank account, you've got to list that account on the schedule A. If an asset has been properly titled in the name of the trust, rule two is to be sure the asset is described on the trust schedule A. Rule three, you have to correctly title an asset in order to add that asset to the trust. You have to write down the asset's description on the trust schedule A to show the particular asset is a trust asset. Finally, rule three requires that you have a big envelope to be kept with the trust in order to keep proof that a particular asset was correctly titled in the name of the trust. For example, if a home is a trust asset, the proof would be the recorded deed which shows that the home is correctly titled into the trust. For a bank account or a non-iron investment account, the proof would be a statement from the particular institution. Remember, you can't just write an asset's description on the trust schedule A without properly changing title two. Keeping a piece of proof that the trust comes in handy if the title is challenged or if something happens to you, the proof shows that the title was actually changed. That's it. Three easy rules to remember. Correct title using the certification of trust, recording the asset on the trust schedule A, and keeping a piece of proof to show that title was changed. Part of responsible trust management is being sure to follow these three simple rules. If you're a client of ours, our office gave you a list of instructions at our final meeting to sign your documents. And we also gave you a certification of trust to use with the trust. If you're not a client and would like to meet with us to be sure your trust is being properly managed, give us a call.