How to Amend a Living Trust

It can be relatively simple to amend a Living Trust.  For minor changes, you can use a Living Trust Amendment document.  It allows you to make minor deletions or additions to the original Trust document and should be kept with your original Living Trust document.  You should distribute a copy of the Amendment to anyone who holds a copy of the original Living Trust document.

Remember that a Living Trust Amendment should only be used to make one or a few minor amendments.  If multiple amendments are necessary or if the changes are significant (or if you are amending amendments) it’s best to talk to an attorney about creating an Amendment and Restatement of Trust document.  An Amendment and Restatement document means that you avoid having to transfer property into an entirely new trust – the original trust is simply ‘restated’ with revisions.

If you want to completely revoke a trust (because you’ve changed your mind about using a trust, or want to move from a regular Living Trust to a Joint Living Trust, for example) you can use a Living Trust Revocation document.

Laws on this topic may vary from state to state. This content is not meant to provide you with complete information and it is not intended to be legal or tax advice. It is recommended that you consult with your own attorney, accountant or other advisor regarding your specific situation.