Course 3.2 · 50 minutes

The Revocable Living Trust: Avoiding Probate and Funding the Trust

Know when a revocable trust is worth it, how it works while you are alive and after you die, and how to fund it so it actually avoids probate.

Who it is for: Homeowners, owners of accounts in more than one state, and anyone who wants privacy.
Runtime: 50 minutes

Pre-order: this course is in development and appears in your portal the day it is released. Buy 5 or more and every course is 30% off.

See the full track See the full curriculum

Instant download after payment. Nothing is withheld for a later purchase.

What you receive

Trust Funding Checklist by asset type with sample deed and retitling language
Revocable Trust versus Will comparison chart
Successor Trustee first-thirty-days checklist
Section 645 election overview for the year of death
Trust Funding Tracker (Excel)
The narrated lesson. 50 minutes, cued to the deck, with chapter markers by lesson. Emailed to you the day it publishes, at no extra cost.

What the course covers

01How a revocable trust works: you wear all three hats6 min
02Taxes while you are alive: nothing changes4 min
03Incapacity and death: the successor trustee, the new tax number, and the first return8 min
04Funding the trust asset by asset: real estate, accounts, business interests, and what to leave out11 min
05The pour-over will and the sub-trusts for a spouse and children5 min
06Worked example: a couple with a home, a brokerage account, and an LLC, funded step by step7 min
07Tricks of the trade: transfer-on-death deeds, out-of-state property, and keeping S corporation status5 min
08Mistakes and traps: the unfunded trust, the retirement account mistake, and property tax reassessment4 min

How it fits: Requires 3.1. Pairs with 6.5 for business interests in trust.

The standard every course holds

A narrated lesson of 45 to 60 minutes, produced as audio
A designed slide deck you download and keep
A computational workbook that runs the actual legal tests
A toolkit of checklists and protocols
A legal authority appendix carrying the two-pass vetting protocol

Written for a diligent reader with no legal education. Professionally narrated using a studio voice model of Brian T. Boyd. The course is recorded instruction, not a live consultation.

Where this course sits

Track 3: Estate Planning

This course is one step in a track built around a single outcome. See the full build order and the other courses that get you there.

Back to this track

Educational material from the private client curriculum of Brian T. Boyd. This is legal education for a general audience, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by purchasing, viewing, or using it. Tax outcomes depend on your facts and your state.