If you're a CPA in South or Central Arkansas, there's a good chance some of your clients have trusts that were technically "completed" but never actually implemented.
The documents are signed. The binder is sitting on the shelf. The client believes they've avoided probate because they "have a trust."
But the trust was never funded.
The real estate was never deeded into the trust. The brokerage accounts stayed in individual names. Beneficiary designations were never updated. In reality, the trust doesn't own anything.
You'll usually spot it while reviewing a client's financial picture:
Most clients genuinely don't understand the difference between having a trust drafted and having a trust fully funded.
And that gap matters.
An unfunded trust can completely undermine what the client thought they accomplished. We're talking probate avoidance, asset protection planning, tax planning, business succession, or generational planning. A trust only works on the assets actually connected to it.
One of the simplest but most valuable questions a CPA can ask a client is: "When is the last time someone reviewed whether your trust was actually funded?"
That question alone uncovers a surprising number of planning gaps.
Here's the bottom line: a signed trust document sitting on a shelf isn't protecting anyone. The trust needs to actually own the assets for the planning to work.
We regularly help clients review funding, beneficiary designations, titling, and overall coordination between the legal plan and the actual asset structure.
Happy to be a resource for your clients anytime.
