Prevent Elder Abuse by Giving Someone A 29. Power to Approve Modification of Revocation of Your Revocable Trust

While revocable trusts are commonly thought of as tools to avoid probate they can do much more. Revocable trusts are a powerful took to protect you as you age or because of illness, disability or dementia. Naming a trustworthy co-trustee and a trust protector (who can monitor the trust and replace trustees and perhaps other actions) are all helpful, but not enough. A risk is that a pushy child, overreaching home health aid or another person might get you to modify or revoke your revocable trust thereby empowering them to steal your wealth. Adding a separate approval process to a well-designed revocable trust plan can protect you from elder abuse, romance scams, undue influence and more. A person could be designated to act in a special role wherein your revocable trust document requires that person to consent in writing (that is witnessed and notarized) to any modification or revocation of your trust. That way, if someone tries to con you into changing the trust, it won’t be effective without a sign off by the designated person. That could be a powerful protection against elder abuse. The person may be designated to act in a non-fiduciary capacity so that there are no standards or limitations on their approval. You may choose to indemnify them whether or not they act in the trust document. You could name multiple people to serve and require a majority or even unanimous consent. You might provide that if state law does not permit them to act in a non-fiduciary capacity their power is void. That may provide further protection to the person serving. Revocable trusts are incredibly powerful planning tools, but too often treated as boilerplate simplistic documents.