Trust Amendments

We recommend reviewing your trust every 3 to 5 years, even if nothing in your personal life appears to have changed. Why? Because laws governing trusts and estates in Nevada and California can change, sometimes significantly, and those changes may affect how your trust functions.

In addition to routine reviews, you should always revisit your trust after major life events, including marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, death of a beneficiary, acquiring or selling a major asset, or relocating to a new state. Any one of these events could create a gap or conflict in your trust that needs to be addressed.

Failing to update your trust could mean it no longer reflects your true wishes. In some cases, this could result in distributions you didn’t intend or family members being left out entirely. Regular trust maintenance ensures that your plan continues to protect your assets and provide for the people and causes that matter most to you.

A trust amendment modifies specific parts of an existing trust. For example, you might amend your trust to change your successor trustee, add or remove a beneficiary, or adjust the timing of distributions. The amendment document becomes an official part of your trust and is read alongside the original trust when it’s administered.

A trust restatement replaces the entire trust document with a new one but retains the original trust’s name and creation date. This is especially useful when a trust has undergone multiple amendments over the years, making it confusing to read and administer. A restatement consolidates all changes into one clean, updated document without the need to re-title assets already in the trust’s name.

At Handelin Law, we help clients decide whether a targeted amendment or a full restatement is the better approach. The choice often depends on the extent of the changes, how many amendments already exist, and whether there have been significant legal or personal developments since the trust was created.

While it is legally possible to write your own trust amendment, doing so without legal guidance is risky. Trusts are highly technical legal instruments, and even a small drafting error can create confusion or render the amendment invalid. For example, unclear language could result in a trustee or court interpreting your wishes in a way you did not intend.

In Nevada and California, amendments must be executed according to strict rules — typically requiring the grantor’s signature and notarization. If these procedures aren’t followed, the amendment may be challenged or disregarded entirely during trust administration.

An experienced trust attorney ensures that your changes are valid, enforceable, and fully integrated with the rest of your estate plan. At Handelin Law, we also review related documents — such as powers of attorney, wills, and beneficiary designations — to ensure consistency across your entire plan.

By design, an irrevocable trust is meant to be permanent. However, both Nevada and California law allow for certain modifications under specific conditions. One method is trust decanting, where assets are transferred from the existing trust into a new trust with updated terms. Another option is a nonjudicial settlement agreement, where all beneficiaries agree to changes without going to court, provided the changes comply with state law.

In cases where agreement cannot be reached, it may still be possible to petition the court for modification. Common reasons include correcting mistakes, adapting to changes in tax law, or addressing unforeseen circumstances that frustrate the trust’s original purpose.

Because the legal hurdles are higher for amending irrevocable trusts, professional guidance is essential. We evaluate whether your situation qualifies for modification and advise on the most efficient and legally sound approach.