Trust funding letter automation

Funding follow-up begins with the household’s asset inventory and the client’s intended plan. Bancroft prepares letters and tracks tasks, but the relevant institution must process each requested change. For the client-facing overview, see Trust funding.

Why this matters

A revocable trust only controls the assets titled to it or payable to it. An unfunded trust can leave assets to pass through probate, which is often what the client set up the trust to avoid. Funding is where many plans stall after the signing.

In Bancroft, funding is part of the household record, alongside the documents, the asset inventory and the annual review. Each asset headed for the trust becomes a task with a letter to its institution. The client ends up with a clear set of letters to mail, and you have a record of what is done and what is still open.

What funding letters cover

Funding letters are drafted from the household’s asset inventory, for these asset types:

• Bank: checking, savings and CD accounts
• Brokerage: taxable investment accounts
• Retirement: IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k) and 403(b) accounts (these use beneficiary designation, not retitling)
• Life insurance policies
• Business interests
• Safe deposit boxes

Real property (homes, vacation properties, raw land) needs a recorded deed rather than a letter. Bancroft offers a deed recording service for that, at $199 per deed.

Vehicles are outside the funding letter system. Vehicle title transfers depend on the state motor-vehicle agency. Many plans keep vehicles titled individually because of insurance and liability questions.

Three funding strategies

Each asset has a funding strategy, and the letter is written to match it:

• Retitle to trust. Change the legal owner of the asset from the grantor to the trustee. Common for taxable bank and brokerage accounts. How to retitle brokerage and bank accounts into a trust lists what the largest custodians ask for.
• Transfer-on-death or payable-on-death designation. Name the trust as the TOD or POD beneficiary on a bank or brokerage account, leaving the grantor as the legal owner during life.
• Beneficiary designation. Name the trust as the beneficiary on a retirement account or life insurance policy. Used when retitling would trigger a deemed distribution (retirement) or a tax event (life insurance).

Approving letters

Every letter starts as a draft. The client can see the drafts, and either you or the household approves each one. Review every letter before it goes out: the institution name, account number and titling language need to match what the client actually has. A mistake is corrected in the asset inventory, and the letter is rebuilt from it.

What the household does

Approved letters appear in the client portal, organized by institution. The household can:

• Download each letter, or all of them together in one packet
• Mark a letter as mailed once it is signed and sent
• Upload the institution’s written confirmation once the change is made, stored encrypted in the household’s Digital Safe

The portal shows the household where it stands: how many letters are open, how many are mailed and waiting, and how many are confirmed.

Reminders and follow-up

Bancroft emails the household a reminder when an approved letter has not been marked mailed. Mailing stops that reminder; it does not confirm an institution has processed a transfer. A mailing shows that a request was sent. The institution’s written confirmation shows the change was made.

Use the household’s funding status to see which tasks need follow-up, and agree with the household who handles each next step. Review the underlying record and any institution confirmation before treating a transfer as complete.

Institution-specific notes

Institutions may require their own forms, identity checks or additional documents. Confirm their current requirements before submitting a packet. A Bancroft letter supports the request; acceptance is determined by the institution.

If an institution rejects a Bancroft letter, email support@usebancroft.com with the institution name and the reason. Real-world rejections are how the letter library improves, and reports go straight to the team that maintains it.