A key part of preparing your revocable trust is making a "Schedule A" also called a "Schedule of Assets" that identifies all of the property you are placing in the trust.
Trust Property
Revocable trusts have become very common in estate planning and are particularly used as a way to avoid probate. However, your property doesn't automatically become part of the trust just by signing the trust document. You must specifically identify the property you are transferring to the trust and this information is included in Schedule A attached to the document.
Read More: How to Set Up a Property Trust
Importance
Without a Schedule A, the trust would be incomplete. The ultimate purpose of the trust is to distribute your assets to the beneficiaries designated in your trust. Schedule A should specifically identify these assets, such as listing the address of any real estate, bank account numbers and an inventory of household and personal items that are to be in the trust.
Other Transfer Documents
In addition to being listed on Schedule A, any property that has an identifiable title document, such as the deed to your home, will also require the title document to be changed to the trust.
Amending Schedule A
One benefit to having a Schedule A listing your assets, as opposed to listing them in the trust document, is the ease in amending Schedule A when your assets change. Simply prepare a new schedule, detach the old one from the trust document, and attach the amended schedule.
Property Description
If you live in a community property state, such as California, and you are putting both community property and separate property into the trust, you should include in the property description on Schedule A which property is community and which is separate.
Resources
Writer Bio
Joe Stone is a freelance writer in California who has been writing professionally since 2005. His articles have been published on LIVESTRONG.COM, SFgate.com and Chron.com. He also has experience in background investigations and spent almost two decades in legal practice. Stone received his law degree from Southwestern University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from California State University, Los Angeles.