February 21, 2018

If a person already has a trust established with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney, they may be curious about whether a second trust could revoke the terms of the first one. The simple answer to this question is generally no because the creation of a second trust does not immediately revoke a prior trust. 

This is because there is a significant difference between trusts and wills that many people struggle to understand. Although wills contain a provision that a new will revokes all prior wills, trusts typically do not include the same language or apply in the same way. There is an exception to this rule fi the second trust is a complete amendment of or a restatement of the first trust. However, a restatement is not a new trust in and of itself, but rather an amendment to the first trust already created.

It is a complete amendment but still an amendment to the trust already generated. A trust may also contain a provision that revokes the first trust but this would technically classify as revocation in a written form of the first trust and would usually work to revoke the first one. However, many people may need to consult with an experienced estate planning attorney about their intentions to do this and the possible problems that may arise as a result of it.