Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Virginia

Re: disolving a trust fund

The trust itself should contain the terms which describe how it is to be dissolved in the event that the trustee or successor trustee(s) are no longer available for this task(for whatever reason).

Re: disolving a trust fund

Your question is not completely clear and it will depend on the situation.

The first question is whether you have the power to dissolve it. Are you the right person to do it?

The second question I have is whether you are referring to an EMPTY trust with no money in it, or whether you need to dissolve the trust in terms of distributing the money in it?

If the trust is empty, and you just want to close it for paperwork purposes, it really does not matter, but the trustee (preferably with the signature of all the beneficiaries) can simply issue a notice saying that the trust is hereby canceled. If the trust has done any business with anyone else or any other business, you should also notify them.

If the trust has money or other assets in it, these can only be distributed according to what the trust says. So the money can only be used or accessed or distributed according to the directions in the trust itself.

The exception is if the trust is REVOCABLE (as opposed to irrevocable).

If the trust is revocable, then when it is cancelled all of the money or assets would be returned to the person or persons who originally put them into the trust. It would return. If that person or persons has died, then the trust becomes irrevocable.

If the trust is irrevocable, and has assets or money in it, it might still be possible to cancel the trust if EVERYONE involved agrees to it. If every beneficiary and anyone else who has a possible inerest in the trust all signs and agrees, then teh trust can still be revoked by agreement. However, beware of beneficiaries who are not yet 18. They might not be able to sign, depending on their status in the trust plan.