Completing Your Estate Planning the Right Way
Creating a trust is an important estate-planning step—but a trust that does not own your real estate does not control your real estate.
I regularly help Vermont property owners transfer real estate they already own into an existing trust so their well-earned estate plan actually works as intended.
This process is often called “funding the trust,” and it is one of the most commonly overlooked steps in estate planning.
Why Trust Funding Matters for Vermont Real Estate
Many clients come to me after they have:
Paid an estate planning attorney to draft a trust
Signed the trust documents
Assumed their Vermont property was now protected
In reality, the property was never transferred.
Without a properly drafted and recorded Vermont deed, the trust may have no legal ownership of the property at all—defeating probate-avoidance and control goals.
I Do Not Draft Trusts — I Deed Your Property Correctly
I do not create trusts or provide estate-planning advice about whether a trust is appropriate. That work is best handled by a dedicated estate-planning attorney.
What I do is:
Review your existing trust documents
Identify exactly how title must be vested
Draft the correct Vermont deed
Ensure the transfer aligns with your estate plan
I will tell you precisely what information I need from your trust so the deed is drafted correctly the first time.
Common Mistakes I See With Deeds to Trust
Transferring Vermont property into a trust requires precision. Common errors include:
Incorrect trustee naming
Missing authority to convey or sell property
Failure to account for trust amendments
Deeds that conflict with prior recorded interests
These mistakes can create serious problems years later—often discovered only after death or incapacity.
Why a Title Review Is Essential
Before preparing a trust deed, I perform a limited title review to confirm:
Current ownership vesting
Whether corrective actions are required
All the property you currently own is deeded, including after-aquired property, and excluding your selloffs.
Many Vermont attorneys skip this step, to your peril. As a result, deeds are frequently drafted incorrectly, transferring only some but not all of your property into your trust, or even creating an invalid or ineffective deed. It is truly awful when you have worked hard on your estate planning yet this crucial deed to your trust is not done correctly; and just like that, all your estate planning was for naught.
This step ensures the trust receives clean, legally effective title.
I take the extra step because getting the deed right is the entire point of the transfer.
Coordination With Out-of-State Trustees
Many trusts are drafted by attorneys outside Vermont, for trustees outside of Vermont. That is not a problem.
I routinely coordinate Vermont real estate transfers with:
Out-of-state estate planners
Trustees and settlors
Family representatives
My focus is ensuring the Vermont land records reflect the estate plan accurately.
Complete Your Vermont Trust Funding
If you have a trust and own Vermont real estate, transferring the property is often the missing final step.
I can help ensure your trust actually owns your Vermont property—so your planning works when it matters most.