If a Trust Has an Expiration Date, Can it Be Extended?

There’s a trust, whether it was created by you or someone else, and you want to know if it can be extended so that it doesn’t expire.  It depends entirely on the type of trust and how the trust was drafted.

People often think that a trust is a trust; that there’s no difference between one person’s trust and another except for the names listed.  This couldn’t be further from the trust.  Each trust is different, not just the names that are in it, but each trust is drafted to suit the needs of different people.  As such, it’s impossible to answer specific questions about a trust.

Generally speaking, there are two main categories of trusts – Revocable and Irrevocable.  If you have an irrevocable trust, chances are, it’ll be very hard to change the terms of the trust.  If you have a revocable trust, depending on who has the power of trustee in the trust, you might be able to extend the life of the trust.

Remember however, that each trust is different so you should bring the trust an experienced estate planning attorney to review it for you if you have questions about your specific trust.