When Should You Amend A Living Trust

Ask any estate planning attorney and they’ll be quick to point out that you should review your estate plan at least every five years. This seems logical, especially considering that life circumstances can radically change in a short time, and your will and your living trusts should keep up with those changes. 

The question that’s on the mind of many is ‘can I amend my living trust without an attorney’?

 In this post, we’ll go over the main reasons why you might want to amend your living trust and the easiest way to do so. 

Key Reasons To Amend A Living Trust

Living trusts can be modified at any time, which is why it’s always a good idea to review them and make alterations whenever any circumstances change. 

Here are just a few reasons why you may want to amend a trust:

• You got married
• You got divorced
• You got a child
• One of the beneficiaries died
• You want to replace a beneficiary or a trustee, or change the distribution of the assets
• You wish to remove a property from the trust
• You bought a new property and want to add it to a living trust
• You moved from one state to another that has a different inheritance law

There are many other potential reasons to make changes to a trust. This is why it’s recommended to consult an attorney to ascertain whether the changes in your life circumstances warrant an amendment of the trust.

Can I Amend My Living Trust Without An Attorney? 

The short answer is yes.

You can legally amend a living trust without an attorney, and what’s equally important, without going to court. There are forms available online that you can use, and you can even solve estate planning matters through an online service (usually for a small fee).

Working with an attorney is still the best option, particularly if they helped create the trust in the first place. This does come with a fee, but an attorney can help you find an alternative option that save you money in the long run. For instance, an attorney may recommend revoking the trust completely and making a new one if the circumstances call for it and if it helps you save money.

Most importantly, if you make a mistake (this is a possibility when you’re dealing with legalese), you might experience financial losses later down the line, which means that hiring an attorney is by far the safest option. 

How To Amend A Living Trust

Now that you know the answer to ‘can I amend my living trust without an attorney’, if you’re bold enough, here’s how you can do it:

Find An Online Form

For those who aren’t legal experts, online forms for amending a living trust are a great starting point and there are plenty of them you can get for free. Keep in mind that you may spend a lot of time finding a form that suits you, but the good news is that there is actually no correct form as you can simply use the one that’s easiest to use.

Use Clear And Specific Language

Despite the fact you may want to flex your legal knowledge, now is not the time. Use simple language and steer clear of legalese. You want your beneficiaries and trustees to understand how to properly distribute your trustee.

Be clear about the name of the trust, the date, and clarify what information you’re amending.

Also, make sure to add in whether something is a replacement to some item in the original trust or is it an addition that may help your successors understand your intention.

Notarize The Amendment

To make the amendment valid, you’ll have to notarize it by signing it in front of a notary. If you’re amending the joint trust, you’ll have to have each signature notarized. Remember that you’ll have to pay a fee for notarizing each signature.

Attach The Amendment To The Trust

Once your amendment is notarized, attach it to the original document and store it  in a safe place that your trustees can easily access, or in your attorney's office. 

However, under no circumstances should you keep your estate planning documents in a safe deposit box if the contents of the deposit box aren’t included in the trust. This could lead to problems because the probate court will seal the deposit box once probate starts, meaning your trustees won’t have a way to access these contents. 

How To Restate Or Revoke The Living Trust

In some cases, especially when the changes are substantial, it’s simply easier to do a restatement of a trust. Doing this won’t revoke it, but rather recreate the trust. In other words, you can rewrite the trust as a completely new document (including all the latest additions), which is a lot less confusing than attaching an amendment.

Alternatively, you may completely revoke a trust at any time. Naturally, once you revoke a living trust, you’ll have to make a new one. Consult an attorney on whether this is worth your time or if you should explore other options. 

Can You Amend An Irrevocable Living Trust?

By definition, you can’t amend an irrevocable living trust. While a revocable trust provides you with full control and ownership of the assets contained within, with an irrevocable trust, your amendment options are nonexistent..

You can revoke an irrevocable trust though, but you’ll need consent from the beneficiaries and the trustees. Otherwise, you’ll have to hire an estate planning attorney and revoke the trust through the court system. 

Make The Right Estate Planning Choices With Attorneys From Doane & Doane

Your estate plan hinges on you knowing when to amend your trusts. This isn’t always easy, as estate plans should be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the current situation - which can be tricky if you’re doing it all alone.

Considering the hassle of reviewing your estate plan and making updates on your own, it makes much more sense to let an attorney handle it all for you. 

If you need someone to update your estate plan and figure out new ways to make it more effective, reach out to Doane & Doane.

We’re one of the most reputable estate planning law firms in the Palm Beach area, and over the last two decades, we helped many families make the right estate planning choices. The financial future of your family matters and you need to ensure your assets stay intact once you pass away - which is why you should never settle for less than we have to offer. 

Call 561-656-0200 or fill out our contact form, to schedule a free consultation.

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.