• A bank may require a copy of the living trust agreement.bank image by Pefkos from Fotolia.com
  
  A person can transfer assets to a trust to provide future income to another family member, while keeping control over investment decisions for the assets in the trust. A living trust is a trust that the grantor creates while still alive. A trust does not include other topics that a will includes, such as a "do not resuscitate" order given to a hospital, according to the state of Connecticut. A grantor often creates a living trust to avoid the complications of dividing up the estate in probate court. A living trust is a revocable trust, as the grantor can cancel it while he is still alive.
  
  

Beneficiary Identification

• Federal deposit insurance protects living trust accounts. If the bank cannot pay its liabilities, the federal government will reimburse trust deposits of up to $250,000 per account if record-keeping requirements are met. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the title documents for the bank account must state that the account is part of a living trust. Bank records or the living trust document have to specify the trust beneficiaries, which can include individuals or qualified charities.
  
  

Asset Manager Notification

• For a living trust to be effective, the trust creator must transfer the ownership of all assets in the trust to the trust itself. Asset ownership does not automatically transfer after the creation of the trust document. This means that the grantor has to notify stockbrokers, banks, money managers and any others who oversee the assets included in the trust. It is common for assets that the grantor meant to be part of the trust to not be included because the trust creator did not correctly transfer ownership of these assets.
  
  

Public Records

• Public records include some living trust documents. According to the state of Maryland, Maryland requires the grantor to provide a list that includes every asset in the trust to the state Register of Wills. A bank or money manager may also require the grantor to provide a copy of the trust agreement when transferring account ownership to the trust, although it may not be necessary to make the trust agreement available as a public record.
  
  

Mental Competence

• Family members of the grantor may challenge a living trust arrangement. According to Mahoning County, Ohio, one justification for this challenge is that the grantor was not mentally competent when creating the living trust agreement. The grantor should get a statement from the lawyer helping him create the trust which claims that he has the mental capability necessary to agree to this legal arrangement.