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Amend Your Trust Online
Life changes. Your trust should too. Update your living trust quickly and legally with attorney guidance.
Amend Trust NowHow to Get Started
Update your trust in just a few steps
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Create Your Account
Register online securely. Access your amendment documents anytime.
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Complete the Questionnaire
Our step-by-step wizard guides you through describing the changes you want to make.
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Attorney Review & Consultation
We prepare a formal amendment document and review it with you to ensure accuracy.
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We Handle the Process
Sign the amendment and file with your original trust documents following our instructions.
When to Amend Your Trust
Common life events that require trust updates
Marriage or Divorce
Update beneficiaries and trustee designations after relationship changes.
New Children
Add new children or grandchildren as beneficiaries to your trust.
Property Changes
Reflect major asset acquisitions or sales in your trust.
Change Trustees
Update successor trustees or trust advisors as circumstances change.
Distribution Changes
Modify how and when beneficiaries receive their inheritance.
Law Changes
Update your trust to comply with new tax or estate planning laws.
What's Included
Complete amendment service
Understanding Trust Amendments
A trust amendment is a legal document that modifies specific provisions of your existing revocable living trust without completely rewriting it. Since life circumstances change—marriages, divorces, births, deaths, changes in assets, or shifts in relationships—your trust should evolve to reflect your current situation and wishes. Amendments allow you to keep your estate plan current and effective.
When to Amend vs. Restate Your Trust
Understanding when to amend versus restate (completely rewrite) your trust is important:
- Amend when: You're making one or a few specific changes, the basic structure remains sound, changes are straightforward, or your trust is relatively recent and well-drafted
- Restate when: You're making numerous changes, the trust is old and no longer reflects modern law, you want to simplify a trust that's been amended multiple times, or you're making fundamental structural changes
Generally, if you need more than 3-4 amendments, or if your trust is more than 10 years old, a complete restatement may be more appropriate. Our attorneys will review your trust and advise which approach is best for your situation.
Types of Common Amendments
Trust amendments typically address several categories of changes:
- Beneficiary Changes: Adding or removing beneficiaries, changing distribution percentages, or modifying when beneficiaries receive distributions
- Trustee Changes: Updating successor trustees, adding or removing co-trustees, or changing trustee powers and compensation
- Asset Management: Adding or removing specific property, changing how assets should be managed or distributed
- Guardian Designations: Updating who will care for minor children if both parents are deceased
- Administrative Provisions: Updating addresses, tax provisions, or administrative procedures
- Special Needs Provisions: Adding or modifying provisions for beneficiaries with disabilities
Legal Requirements for Valid Amendments
For a trust amendment to be legally valid, it must meet certain requirements:
- You must have mental capacity to make the amendment
- The amendment must be in writing and properly executed
- You must follow the amendment procedures specified in your original trust
- The amendment must be signed and dated
- Most trusts require notarization, though some states don't require it
- The amendment should clearly reference the original trust being amended
Our service ensures your amendment meets all legal requirements for validity in your state. We draft the amendment using proper legal language and provide detailed signing instructions specific to your trust's requirements and state law.
Amendment vs. Revocation
It's important to understand the difference between amending and revoking your trust. An amendment changes specific provisions while keeping the trust intact. Revocation completely terminates the trust, transferring all assets back to you individually. You might revoke a trust if you no longer need it, want to create an entirely different estate plan, or are converting assets to a different ownership structure. However, most changes can and should be handled through amendments rather than complete revocation, as this maintains continuity and is simpler to execute.
After your trust is amended, make sure to keep the amendment with your original trust document. Both documents together form your complete trust agreement. We recommend storing them in a fireproof safe or safe deposit box, and informing your successor trustee of their location.
Frequently asked questions
There's no legal limit to how many times you can amend a revocable living trust during your lifetime, as long as you have mental capacity. However, multiple amendments can make your trust confusing and increase the risk of conflicting provisions. If you've amended your trust 3-4 times or more, it may be better to do a complete restatement—essentially creating a fresh, updated version that incorporates all changes. Our attorneys will review your situation and recommend the most appropriate approach.
Requirements vary by state and by your original trust document. Most trust amendments require only the trustor's signature, typically notarized. Unlike wills, which usually require witnesses, trust amendments generally don't need witnesses unless your original trust specifically requires them. However, notarization is typically recommended or required to ensure the amendment's validity. We review your specific trust and state law to provide exact requirements for your amendment's execution.
An amendment changes specific provisions of your trust while leaving the rest intact. A restatement completely rewrites your trust, creating a fresh document that supersedes the original. Think of amending as editing a document versus restatement as rewriting it from scratch. Amendments are simpler and less expensive for minor changes. Restatements are better when you need extensive changes, have multiple existing amendments, or your trust is old and needs updating to current laws. The restated trust keeps the same name and date, so assets already titled in the trust's name don't need to be retitled.
Properly executed amendments strengthen rather than weaken your trust by keeping it current and clearly expressing your wishes. However, amendments must be done correctly to be valid. An improperly executed amendment could create confusion or be deemed invalid, potentially leaving you with outdated provisions. This is why professional preparation is important. Our attorney-drafted amendments ensure proper legal language, correct execution procedures, and consistency with your original trust, maintaining your trust's full legal validity.
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