Living trusts conversion

Living trusts conversion
question

Can an ongoing trust be an amendment to a living trust?

answer

It's not clear what an "ongoing" trust is. A "living" trust is any trust established during your lifetime (assuming you're the person that set up the trust as the grantor, or trustor). A living trust (the legal jargon is "inter-vivos" trust) is any trust established while the grantor is alive. That can include irrevocable trusts which are trusts that cannot be changed, or "revocable" trusts which can be changed or amended. The distinction is not that clear or simple in practice because many trusts that are designated as "irrevocable" may include a host of ways that they can be modified. Modern trust drafting more commonly includes fiduciaries other than trustees, for example a trust protector. This is a person that can be given a range of rights and powers, even in an irrevocable trust, to make changes and take various actions.

If a trust is formed under a will, it is referred to as a "testamentary" trust a testamentary trust cannot be transmuted into a living trust.

An irrevocable trust cannot be changed to a revocable trust, but some modifications may be feasible. It may even be feasible, depending on state law and the trust document, to terminate the trust, distribute trust assets and start all over again.

Given the complexity of these issues and the uncertainty in you question you should really consult with an estate planner.

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