Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Changes to a Living Trust/Will
My mother wants to put an additional requirement in her living trust for one beneficiary. She wants to increase the age at which the beneficiary receives assets. Can we do this without a lawyer? Can we add a codicil to the will or just copy (rewrite) the page in her trust that dictates the ages of the beneficiaries with this one change and have it notarized?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Changes to a Living Trust/Will
"We" We better not. If your mother wants her proposed amendment to withstand the scrutiny it's about to receive, she better go see an attorney. It would be best if you stayed far, far, far away from the process. Otherwise the beneficiary will claim you unduly influenced your mother to change the trust. I handle lots of these types of cases. My intend here is not to offend you, but instead to help guide your mother. Tell her to see an attorney. It shouldn't cost too much.
Re: Changes to a Living Trust/Will
I would recommend against it. Trusts are complicated and one change can change the entire meaning of the trust. If you are going to change the age at which a beneficiary gets his share, you will need to change the language pertaining to the trustee's authority to hold property until that age for that particular beneficiary.
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