How to Terminate a Family Trust Account

Family trusts may be either revocable or irrevocable. This designation is established when the trust is created. Revocable trust can be terminated at any time at the request of the grantor, or the person who creates the trust. Irrevocable trusts can terminated as well, but require both the grantor and beneficiaries to agree to the termination.

Instructions

1. Remove the assets from the trust. To begin the process of revoking a trust, the grantor should transfer all assets from the trust into accounting bearing only his or her name. If the trust is irrevocable, the grantor will need the beneficiary's permission to do this.

2. Draft a Revocation of Living Trust. The revocation of living is a simple legal document that lists the name of the grantor, the date and a statement declaring that she wishes to revoke the trust.

3. Verify that you are in compliance with state law. Because the rules governing trusts are dictated by state law, it may be advisable to have an attorney or paralegal review your Revocation before you execute it to make sure that you are acting within your rights.

4. Execute the revocation. The grantor will need to sign this document in the presence of a notary public. In case of irrevocable trusts, the beneficiary will also need to provide a notarized signature in order for the revocation to be valid.

5. Provide a copy of the revocation to all pertinent parties. After the Revocation of Trust is executed, the grantor, beneficiaries and their respective attorneys should all retain a copy of the document.

References

• Living Trusts
• Revocable Trusts

Resources

• Revocable Living Trusts