WHAT'S THE LAW?
Get an attorney to modify living trust
Legal Aid Society of Hawaii
Question: My revocable living trust was established in 1972. A will was drawn in 1968. At this stage in my life, I wish to modify the trust and discard the will. My question is in two parts. First, can I make changes to the trust without the use of an attorney? Can the trust be modified and then certified by a notary public? Secondly, my will is outdated. With an updated trust, do I need a will (I am discarding the 1968 will)?
Answer: From Janet Kelly, Legal Aid attorney: To answer your first question, regarding a revocable living trust, changes to a revocable living trust are usually done by way of a document called a trust amendment. This document is usually customized to fit your particular trust agreement and your particular circumstances. Although you might be able to find a form version of this document, I strongly suggest that you have an attorney draft it for you. Errors in drafting a trust amendment could be more costly in the long run. To answer your second question, when you have a revocable living trust drafted, you usually have a special type of will drafted called a pour over will. The pour over will works in conjunction with your trust agreement to insure that the distribution of your estate is uniform. In general, this type of will should not be amended by itself since the will provisions could affect the trust. Based on the information your provided, you should probably have an attorney review both the original trust agreement and the will that you have to be sure that the documents are working together to meet your estate planning goals.
Q: My nephew is in jail for possession of "ice," even though he is innocent. His court-appointed attorney is no good and not helping him. Can you help him?
A: The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii does not handle criminal cases. Our mission is to achieve fairness and justice for Hawaii's low- and moderate-income population through quality representation, advocacy, community partnerships, education and outreach involving civil legal needs.
Legal Aid Society of Hawaii operates statewide. Practice areas include housing, public benefits, consumer and family law but not criminal law. For information, call 536-4302. Submit questions by e-mail to dawalla@lashaw.org or by U.S. mail to Legal Aid Q&A, 924 Bethel St., Honolulu, HI 96813.