Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
According to my research, New York State law provides that if a trust settlor obtains the acknowledged, written consent of all those beneficially interested in an irrevocable trust, he or she may amend, revoke or decant it. My question is: Is approval from a judge always needed in order to amend, revoke or decant an irrevocable trust in New York State even with the mutual consent of the beneficial parties or is no court involvement necessary?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Yes, you need court approval. By its terms the trust is irrevocable. It can be modified, as you've described correctly, when there's mutual consent, as you've again described. Those provisions are contained in the NY Estates, Powers and Trusts Law, where the court determines if the statutory requirements have been met, reviews the intended modifications in light of other NY law respecting trusts, and will approve (or not) your petition. I've done this a few times; there are lots of hoops to jump through, but it can be done.
Good luck.
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