Letter to Client
(Funding Revocable Trust) (IL)

Summary

This template is a letter to send to a client after execution of a Revocable Living Trust in Illinois. The letter provides general guidance on how to transfer assets to the trust. It contains practical guidance, drafting notes, and optional clauses. Typically, a Revocable Living Trust is utilized by a client who wishes to avoid probate at his or her death. A Revocable Living Trust will not accomplish that purpose if the client does not fund the trust during his or her lifetime. Attorneys should provide explicit instructions about the funding of the trust to each client for whom a trust is prepared. The practitioner should also carefully consider which assets should be held in the name of the trust. This template can be modified for settlors of joint trusts, such as spouses or domestic partners. Drafting and funding a trust is a multi-step process, as summarized in the below image. Visualization of Revocable Trust Drafting and Funding Flowchart. For a full listing of key content on creating an estate plan for an individual with a spouse or partner residing in Illinois, see Estate Plan for Individual with Spouse or Partner Resource Kit (IL). For revocable trust templates, see Revocable Trust for Individual with Spouse or Partner (Basic) (IL) and Revocable Trust for Single Individual (Basic) (IL).