How do I amend my living trust?

Question:

My spouse and I made our own living trust a few years back and now I want to change it. I'd rather not consult my attorney to do this. Can I simply attach an amendment to the trust?

Answer:

It is your prerogative to change your mind any time during your lifetime.

You can change your living trust, usually without incurring lawyer bills. There are a couple of ways to proceed.

One is indeed to attach an amendment. Just be sure your changes -- what you want to delete and what you want to add -- are crystal clear. Because you and your spouse made the trust together, you should both sign the amendment, and when you sign it, get your signatures notarized, just like the original.

Another way to go is to create a "restatement" of your trust. Basically, it's a new trust document that "restates" the original one, with the changes you want. Especially if you make multiple amendments over the years, this can be a cleaner, less confusing way to go.

Both of Nolo's interactive living trust products -- Living Trust Maker and Nolo's Online Living Trust-- come with the ability to make restatements for any trust you make with the program.