Yes. For your trust to work and function as designed, assets must be placed into the trust. It is important, however, to seek the counsel of an experienced estate planning attorney who can advise on and assist with transferring the necessary assets to your trust. How assets are connected to a trust varies depending on the type of asset (i.e. real estate vs. life insurance vs. retirement accounts, etc). A well drafted estate plan must factor in the proper funding of the trust for the plan to work.