 One of the main questions clients ask me is, what goes into my trust? What assets do I put into my trust? Placing assets properly into your trust is a key to getting the full protection your trust will give you and your family. I often refer to a trust as a safe. A trust can hold only assets that are properly titled into the name of the trust. That's the first rule. The second rule is, be sure your trust holds title to the assets it is supposed to hold title to. If you're a typical single person or a married couple, you know that your home should be titled into the name of your trust. In other words, your home should be a trust asset. But what other assets are normally titled into the name of your trust? Rentals and time shares should, so should vacant land, investment property, including property you might own in another state. Bank accounts, safe deposit box, and CDs are usually in most folks' living trusts. Again, this video is meant for educational purposes. If you have specific questions about your assets, consult your estate planning attorney or call our office for an appointment. Your business can be a trust asset in many cases. Whether you have a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or corporation, these types of assets are often held in the name of a trust. But don't just transfer your business interest without getting the advice of your business attorney. This is a tricky thing to do. Don't do anything without a proper business review. Investment accounts, and I'm not talking about 401Ks and IRAs here. Normally, IRAs and 401Ks are not a trust asset. They can be, but you don't normally involve your living trust in IRAs and 401Ks. This can be done, but don't do this without legal advice and following the necessary steps first. Finally, your life insurance. Your personal life insurance and the life insurance provided by your employer should also be a trust asset in most cases. I'm not talking about any insurance held in a life insurance trust. I'm only talking about the typical policies you buy in your life or the one your employer provides. Insurance is slightly different from bank accounts and real property because normal life insurance, your trust is not the owner. Your trust is the beneficiary. So for life insurance, in most cases, the beneficiary is your trust. So for the case of life insurance, it's you as trustee of your trust. That's the beneficiary of most life insurance policies. It sounds counterintuitive, but that's the way most estate plan attorneys handle life insurance. They make their trust, not the owner, but the beneficiary of their employer life insurance or their private life insurance. And again, I'm not talking about irrevocable life insurance trusts here. Your estate planning attorney can give you specific advice with regards to life insurance. Be sure to bring that up at your estate planning review meeting. Finally, rule number three. Be sure to have your trust reviewed by your estate planning attorney. She or he can give you specific advice as to particular assets and whether they should be titled into the name of your living trust or not. I can't stress enough how a review with your estate planning attorney is vital to your trust protection.