People commonly wonder if they can revoke a trust that they no longer like and if they can have more than one trust. The answer is not a simple yes or no.
A reader recently asked a NWI Times column “Can an individual establish more than one trust?” It seems that the reader was curious whether he could have more than one trust and if creating a second trust would automatically revoke the first one.
These are common questions because most people are more familiar with the law of wills than of trusts. A person cannot have more than one will and creating a new will is an automatic revocation of any previous wills. Trusts do not work like that.
It is possible for a person to have more than one trust. It is not uncommon when people want to accomplish different things with different trusts. However, the assets put into the trusts cannot be the same and most people have no reason to have more than one trust. What most people seek to accomplish with a trust, can best be done with only one.
Whether and how a trust can be revoked, depends on what type of trust it is. Some trusts are created to be revocable at any time, but an attorney should create the trust.
Other trusts are created to be irrevocable. Sometimes they can be revoked but there are often tax penalties for doing so. It is usually advisable to amend an irrevocable trust where and how state law allows.
If you have questions about a trust you have created, it would be best to consider meeting with an estate planning attorney.
Reference: NWI Times (Feb. 18, 2018) “Can an individual establish more than one trust?“