How to Amend or Revoke Your Living Trust

In the years after you make your living trust, you may need to amend or revoke it as your circumstances change. Common reasons for amending or revoking your living trust include having a child, adding or removing property, divorcing, or appointing a different successor trustee.

Most living trusts are revocable, meaning that you can change them at any time during your life. Once a trust becomes irrevocable, however, whether you can change it depends on the trust's language, your state's law, and even the beneficiaries' views on the proposed changes.

Understanding Revocable vs. Irrevocable Trusts

Before attempting to modify or revoke a living trust, you need to know whether the trust is revocable or irrevocable. The answer to this question will tell you what to do next.

Revocable Trusts

Almost all living trusts are revocable until the person who created the trust (the grantor or settlor) dies. During a grantor’s life, they can change or revoke the trust at any time, as long as they have the mental capacity to do so.

Irrevocable Trusts

Can you change an irrevocable trust? First, understand that an irrevocable trust is one you usually can't change or revoke on your own after you’ve signed and funded it. It’s not common, but some living trusts are made irrevocable from the start. A grantor may do this to ensure their estate plan is carried out exactly as intended, without the risk of later changes. In some cases, people make irrevocable trusts for potential tax or asset-protection reasons, but these are usually specialized types of irrevocable trusts rather than living trusts.

In practical terms, noted above, a revocable living trust becomes irrevocable upon the death of the person who created it. At that point, the trust's instructions are usually set in stone. That said, changes might be possible in limited situations. For example, state law might allow modifications if all beneficiaries and the trustee agree, or if a court finds the original terms unworkable. Because the rules for changing an irrevocable trust are complicated and vary by state, talk with an estate planning attorney before you try to make any changes on your own

Who Can Change a Living Trust?

Who can change the terms of your living trust depends on whether it's an individual trust or a joint trust. If you set up an individual living trust, you’re free to update or amend it whenever you want, as long as you’re alive and have mental capacity.

When two people make a living trust together in a shared living trust, each grantor can usually change the parts of the trust that affect their own separate property, but can’t change the parts of the trust that affect the other person’s property. Typically, for the overall terms of the trust, both grantors need to agree to changes, but this depends on the terms of the trust. After one grantor dies, that person’s part of the trust usually becomes irrevocable, while the surviving grantor might still be able to amend or revoke the portion that relates to their own property, but again, this depends on the trust’s terms.

Can a Successor Trustee Change a Living Trust?

While you’re alive and serving as trustee of your own living trust, you can make changes as the grantor. When you’re no longer able to serve, whether due to death or incapacity, the successor trustee steps in to manage the trust. The successor trustee’s job is to carry out the terms you set. They usually can’t amend or revoke the trust unless the trust document specifically gives them that power.

Can Beneficiaries Change the Terms of a Trust?

Beneficiaries of a trust generally have no authority to change the terms of a trust, especially while the grantor is (or grantors are) still alive. However, after the grantor dies (or both grantors die), there may be some narrow circumstances that would allow changes to the trust. For example, a change might be allowed if all beneficiaries and the successor trustee agree to a modification, or a court could approve changes if the original terms are impossible or impractical to carry out. These situations are exceptions and depend on the trust document and your state’s laws.

When Should You Modify Your Trust Document?

Major life events such as marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, a beneficiary’s death, or significant changes in your finances or real estate holdings should prompt you to review your trust and make changes, if needed.

Grantors amend their trusts for a variety of reasons, including to:

• add or remove trust property
• update who receives what
• revise the names of beneficiaries or successor trustees
• change who is named as successor trustee
• adjust the powers of the successor trustee
• modify the age at which a beneficiary receives a gift, or
• add protections for a gift that will go to someone who is not good at managing money.

As a general rule, if you reach a point where you’d rewrite your will, it’s wise to review your living trust and see if an amendment to the trust is needed.

How to Amend or Restate a Living Trust

When you’re ready to make changes to your living trust, you have a few options. Many people choose to update their trust by preparing a written amendment or, for larger changes, by creating a “restatement of trust.” If you must start fresh, you can revoke your current trust and create a new one, which we cover in the next section.

Review your current trust. Read the entire document, paying special attention to any section that covers amendments or revocations. This section often outlines the rules for modifying your trust, including any documents you’ll need to provide. For example, if you’ve created a shared trust, the trust document may require you to provide written notice to your co-trustee.

Don’t make changes by hand. Handwritten changes or cross-outs on your trust document might not be legally valid. Courts and successor trustees need clarity, so you should document changes to the trust in a separate written document that spells out the updates.

Prepare a written amendment for simple updates. If you’re making only minor changes—for example, naming a new successor trustee or removing a specific gift—a short trust amendment is often enough. Your amendment document should reference the original trust by name and date, describe the exact paragraphs being changed, and include the new language. You should sign, date, and notarize it, then attach it to your original trust.

Consider a restatement for major changes. If you’ve made multiple amendments or want to update large portions of your trust, a restatement of trust is often the best approach. A restatement replaces all prior provisions while keeping the trust’s name and date, so you can avoid the hassle of retitling property already in the trust.

Transfer property in or out of the trust. If you’re adding or removing property from the trust, you must make that transfer official by either changing the item’s title document or by making a revised assignment of property (if the item doesn’t have a title document. This is an essential step that cannot be overlooked. To do this, follow the same steps you used when you originally transferred property into your trust.

Know when to get help. If you’re wondering how to amend a living trust without an attorney, modest changes to a simple revocable trust can often be handled on your own, especially if you use guided amendment or restatement tools from a reputable provider. For more complex changes, such as those involving taxes, blended families, or irrevocable or special-needs trusts, it’s smart to consult an estate planning attorney before making updates.

No matter which method you use, keep the signed originals in a secure place and give copies to your successor trustee and any key beneficiaries. This helps maintain a clear record of your amendments and ensures the transition from grantor to successor trustee is as smooth as possible.

When to Consider Revoking Instead of Amending Your Trust

For most people, amending or restating a living trust will be enough to address changing circumstances. But there are situations in which creating a new trust could be simpler than continually amending an old one.

You might want to revoke your current trust if it no longer suits your needs, especially when fixing it would require extensive changes. Another scenario might be that you want to switch from a shared trust to separate individual trusts for you and your spouse. Revocation could also make sense when a surviving spouse or partner chooses to terminate the old shared trust and create a new trust in their own name. The new trust can help clarify ownership for heirs upon the survivor's death.

Keep in mind that if you revoke your trust, you'll need to transfer property from the old trust to the new one, including preparing new deeds or title documents. It’s extra paperwork, but it can sometimes be worth the effort for a clearer estate plan.

How to Revoke Your Living Trust

If you’ve decided to revoke your living trust, you’ll need to draft a written document and transfer your property. Here are the steps to follow:

Prepare a written revocation. Start by creating a document that identifies the original trust by name and date and clearly states your intention to revoke it. Then, you should sign this document in front of a notary public. If you made your living trust using a kit or software, it probably included a form with instructions on how to complete the process.

Transfer property out of the trust. To fully revoke your trust, you must transfer property out of the trust’s name. That could involve signing new deeds for real estate, updating registrations for financial accounts, or (for property without title documents) using assignment forms like those used to transfer the property into the trust.

Make your new plan. If you’re creating a new trust, you’ll need to sign, notarize, and fund that trust, transferring property into it just as you did with your original trust. Or, if you’ll have only a will, check that it is up to date and properly finalized.

Because revoking a trust fundamentally changes your estate plan, this could be a good time to talk with an estate planning attorney, especially if you have a large amount of property, a blended family, or other complex circumstances.

Reviewing and Updating Your Living Trust

The longer you have your living trust, the more likely it is that you’ll need to amend or revoke it. When life’s circumstances change, so should your estate plan. Depending on what changes in your life, you might need to amend, restate, or revoke your trust. With simple changes, you may be able to update or even revoke the trust yourself, especially if you’re using clear, step-by-step tools. But get help from an attorney if you have any questions or concerns.

You can find out more about making or changing WillMaker’s living trust in WillMaker’s Legal Manual.