08 Nov Can I Amend a Revocable Living Trust?
Besides the peace of mind it offers, one of the main advantages of a revocable living trust is the ease of making changes according to your wishes. Amending a revocable trust is a fairly simple process and help from your estate planner will make it even easier. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why you might want to make changes to your revocable living trust and how to go about it.
Amending a Revocable Living Trust
One of the best things about a revocable living trust is that you can make changes at any point during your lifetime. You can even revoke your current trust and start over fresh if you wish. Throughout your lifetime there will be certain milestones and events where amending a revocable trust becomes necessary.
You might need to make changes to your living trust if you:
- Get married
- Add a child to your family through birth or adoption
- Lose a spouse through divorce or death
- Move to a new state where beneficiary laws are different
- Purchase a new piece of property
- Wish to change your beneficiaries
How to Amend a Revocable Living Trust
There are several ways to amend a revocable living trust. Depending on the types of changes you’re looking to implement, your estate planning advisor can suggest the method that will work best for you. Here are the three most common ways to make changes:
1: Trust Amendment
Say you worked with an estate planner a few years ago to set up your revocable living trust. At that time, you designed your sister as one of your beneficiaries. However, your sister has since passed away. You now would like to make your sister’s son the beneficiary instead. A simple change like this one can easily be accomplished through a trust amendment.
2: Trust Restatement
If you need to add your new granddaughter as another beneficiary and also add new assets you purchased, a trust restatement will work best for you. Multiple changes require a trust restatement, which is a document that includes your updates and changes in reference to your original living trust.
3: Trust Revocation
Sometimes when you have too many changes, using a trust restatement could cause confusion. In this case, your estate planner might suggest revoking—or canceling—your initial living trust and starting over with a new one. This way, you can spell out all the changes you need and there will be no confusion after you pass on. You will also need a trust revocation if you divorce your spouse.
Estate Planning in Phoenix Valley
Life is full of events that may cause you to need to change your revocable living trust. The good news is that no matter how your lifestyle shifts, your revocable living trust can easily do the same. If you have questions about how to amend a trust, the estate planning specialists here at Phelps LaClair are ready to assist you. Contact us by phone today at (480) 892-2488.
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