There are a few different ways to amend a trust. The person who opens a trust (grantor or settlor) can write an amendment, have their trust restated, or revoke the trust and open a new one. Amending a trust refers to changing the terms of the trust document, like the beneficiary or trustee. You usually don’t need to amend the trust if you want to remove or add assets and property.
A trust is an important part of an estate plan and it can give you more security over how your assets will be distributed, compared to a will. You should amend your trust as often as necessary, such after you get married, divorced, or have children. Typically you can only amend a revocable trust; an irrevocable trust can only be changed in narrow circumstances.
How to amend a living trust
To make changes to a living trust, you must have consent from all the other grantors, like your spouse if you opened a joint trust together. (You do not need permission from a beneficiary, or the trustee, which is probably the same person as the grantor.)
These are the three main ways to amend a trust:
Write a trust amendment
Get a trust restatement
Revoke the trust and set up a new trustgenius.com/trusts/how-to-set-up-a-trust/
Trust amendment
You can make changes to your revocable living trust by using a trust amendment form and storing it with the original trust document.
To write a trust amendment, you must include the following information:
Name of the trust and when it was created
Name of the trustees
Reference to trust provision you want to change and what those changes should be
Reference to trust terms as to the grantor’s power to amend the trust (proof that it’s a revocable trust)
The trust amendment form must be notarized in order to serve as a legal document.
Learn how to notarize your estate plan documents.
Restatement of trust
With trust restatement, the original terms are rewritten with your desired changes. This is done by creating a new document, which is called “Amendment and restatement of declaration of trust,” or something similar. A restated trust still has the same name as the original trust.
Restatement is suited for a more significant change, like writing out a beneficiary or changing how the assets are distributed. A trust restatement is also helpful when you've already added numerous trust amendments, and you want all of the new changes to be collected in one place. (You will have fewer estate planning documents floating around.)
Related article: Can a trustee remove a beneficiary from a trust?
Revoke the trust and open a new one
Another way to make changes is simply to start fresh. You can close, or dissolve, your revocable living trust and then open a new one that adheres to your needs. This may seem like a nuisance, as you’d have to go through the process of transferring trust assets back to yourself and then retitling them into the new trust, but it may be easier in some cases. (Learn how to fund a trust.) For instance, if are getting a divorce it might be easier to close rather than amend the trust you created with your spouse and create a new one.
Read more about how how to dissolve a trust.
How much does it cost to amend the trust?
A trust amendment or even restatement of trust can be free (not including the notarization fee), since you can write up the document yourself or try to find the appropriate form online. However, failing to do this correctly could lead to legal challenges in the future. If the trust amendment or restatement isn’t valid and there's a trust contest, your beneficiaries will have to wait until court proceedings are over for the distribution of trust assets.
You can hire an estate planning attorney to amend a trust but they may charge you a flat fee that is as expensive as the cost of creating the original trust instrument. It all depends on how changes you're trying to make. (Related article: How much does a trust cost?)
Depending on how complex your trust is it may be more cost-effective to close your trust and open a new one. Keep in mind that you have to pay retitling fees again when you transfer assets into your new trust.
Can you change an irrevocable trust?
An irrevocable trust is one that typically cannot be changed and where the grantor typically doesn’t act as the trustee either. In rare circumstances, it is possible to amend an irrevocable trust, but you may have to appear in court and explain your case. You’ll also need to get permission from all trustees and beneficiaries.
Since it can be very difficult to amend an irrevocable trust, depending on your state's trust law, it’s best to consult with an attorney to set up the trust that fits your needs. Irrevocable trusts often have added benefits that a revocable living trust does not.
Learn more about a revocable vs irrevocable trust.
