In order to avoid probate with a revocable living trust, make sure that you fund with assets.

The Olsen on Law Radio Show has been on the air for 40 years. From our radio show, we have videos of real people asking real legal questions. We help people to avoid probate and do their estate planing including wills, living trusts and powers of attorney. We also help people get free in-home care for seniors and help people protect their wealth from the cost of a nursing home. We are the Olsen Law Group in Orlando and we assist clients throughout the State of Florida.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Whenever we're doing estate planning for clients, Holley, always, our goal is that they fully understand what we've done for them by the time they leave our office.
Attorney Holley Knapik: Leave the office. Right.
Tom: Tell our listeners about that.
Holley: Absolutely. One of the things we really love to do, thanks to you, Tom, is there's an action plan. It basically spells out what we're going to do based on our first meeting, all the way through to after we sign your documents; what the client needs to do, what we do. It helps them also to understand the process so that, at the end of the day, the goal is to avoid probate and make sure everything goes according to plan. I enjoy the signing aspect with my clients because I get to do the reminder of, "Okay, now that you've created this estate plan, here's what's left for you to do," and it's usually not much. It's very simple. It's a nice reminder. I've been told that it's been very helpful to have that.
Tom: That action plan, at our initial meeting, when we and our client have agreed on what our action plan is, we put it in writing. We put it on a piece of paper because we can tell them at our meeting, "Hey, we're going to do this, this, and this," but of course, they're going to go home and say, "What did Tom say?"
Holley: Yes. [chuckles]
Tom: Pull out the action plan. There it is. This is what we're doing for you. Boom, boom, boom, boom, each document.
Holley: Exactly.
Tom: It also has what their homework is, so that when we do a living trust for clients, it is, though, we have built an empty vault or an empty safe and we must then fill it up with their assets. We tell them that once you're right on the action plan, it says once your trust is signed, you need to make your bank accounts, checking savings, CDs, money markets. How do we tell the client to handle it, Holley?
Holley: They need to make sure that those jointly owned accounts you go in and you make them payable on death to your trust. If you have an account in your individual name and you're a married couple, you want to make sure your spouse is the primary beneficiary in your trust, is the alternate, also known as contingent beneficiary.
Tom: Yes. Making your bank accounts POD (payable on death) is a tool to avoid probate.
Holley: It is.
Tom: If you're not using a living trust, if you're using simple tools, which I'd say most of our clients are using simple tools, you make your bank accounts POD for your adult children. If you're using a living trust, then you're making your bank accounts POD to your trust, so everything's flowing into your trust, and within the body of your trust, it lays out who/how your wealth is going to be divided when you pass away.
Holley: Pass away, exactly.
Tom: If you've got a question about living trust, folks, why don't you give us a call right now? We'd love to hear from you.--