Photo of the legal professionals at Harry Lewis Co., LPA
Photo of the legal professionals at Harry Lewis Co., LPA

Trusted In The Columbus Area
For More Than 40 Years

Photo of the legal professionals at Harry Lewis Co., LPA

Trusted In The Columbus Area For More Than 40 Years

Can an irrevocable trust be changed after a divorce?

On Behalf of | Sep 18, 2018 | Post-divorce Estate Planning |

When creating an irrevocable trust, one of the things that probably drew you to it was the fact that it cannot be changed. However, that is not 100 percent true. You can change an irrevocable trust according to the Ohio Revised Code under specific circumstances. This can be good news if you have gotten a divorce and feel you need to make a change to a trust.

You do have to follow specific guidelines and meet certain conditions in order to make any changes to a irrevocable trust. First, all the beneficiaries must agree to the change. The court can rule to modify it even if a beneficiary does not provide consent if the interest of the nonconsenting beneficiary is not affected by the changes you wish to make. If allowed to make changes, you cannot change the trustee. Any changes you do make cannot go against the trust’s purpose, which is the intent at the time the trust was created.

You may also be able to terminate an irrevocable trust, but it must be determined by the court that the purpose of the trust will be achieved even if the trust is not in force. In addition, if the trust is terminated, the property held in the trust must be distributed to the beneficiaries according to their wishes.

As you can see, you can make changes or even terminate an irrevocable trust after your divorce, but you are quite limited as to what you can do. You cannot get rid of a trust just to get property back or to get rid of a beneficiary. You really cannot alter the purpose of the trust either. This information is for education and is not to be taken as legal advice.