Modifying and Ending a Nevada Trust

Part of my Nevada Trusts Guide.

By Ronald W. Brilliant, Attorney at Law · Licensed in Idaho, Nevada & California · Last reviewed: September 2026 against Nevada Revised Statutes chapters 153, 162B and 163 through 166A (current through the 2025 legislative session)

In This GuideNevada TrustsTopic 9 of 10: Modifying Trusts

Whether a Nevada trust can be changed or ended depends first on its terms. A trust is irrevocable unless the settlor (the person who created it) expressly kept the right to revoke it in the trust instrument (NRS 163.004(2)). Even so, Nevada law gives trustees, trust protectors, beneficiaries, and the court several ways to modify, combine, divide, move property out of, or end a trust.

This page covers those options, and what happens to trust property and life estates when they end. It matters to settlors, trustees, and beneficiaries of both revocable and irrevocable trusts.

Revocable vs. Irrevocable Trusts

A power given to someone other than the settlor, including a power to amend the trust, does not make a trust revocable (NRS 163.004(2)). If a settlor specifically declares in the trust instrument that the trust is irrevocable, it is irrevocable for all purposes, even if the settlor is also a beneficiary (NRS 163.560(1)).

Under Nevada law, a “trust instrument” includes a court order or any instrument that modifies a trust instrument or, in effect, changes the trustee’s duties and powers or other trust terms (NRS 163.00185). For more on living trusts, see Revocable Trusts.

Changes Caused by Divorce

Divorce or annulment of a settlor’s marriage revokes every devise (gift), beneficial interest, or designation to serve as trustee that the settlor gave the former spouse in a revocable inter vivos trust (a living trust) signed before the decree. This does not apply if a court-approved property or separation agreement, or an order in the divorce or annulment case, provides otherwise. The trust then takes effect as if the former spouse had died before the settlor (NRS 163.565).

A similar rule applies when a settlor’s descendant divorces, has a marriage annulled, or ends a domestic partnership. Unless otherwise ordered or provided in a court-approved agreement, this revokes every devise, beneficial interest, or designation to serve as trustee that the settlor gave that descendant’s former spouse or domestic partner in a revocable inter vivos trust signed before the decree or termination, unless the trust instrument provides otherwise. It also revokes the former spouse’s or partner’s appointment as a trust protector, trust adviser, or consultant (NRS 163.567).

Changes by a Trust Protector

A trust protector may exercise the powers the trust instrument gives the protector, subject to its terms. Those powers are exercised in the protector’s sole discretion and bind everyone else (NRS 163.5553(1)). The powers a trust may grant include, without limitation, the power to (NRS 163.5553(1)):

• Modify or amend the instrument to achieve a more favorable tax status or respond to changes in federal or state law;
• Modify or amend the instrument to take advantage of changes in the rule against perpetuities, restraints on alienation, or other state laws restricting trust terms, distributions, or administration;
• Increase or decrease any beneficiary’s interest;
• Modify the terms of a power of appointment granted by the trust;
• Remove and appoint a trustee, trust adviser, or committee member;
• Change the trust’s location or governing law; and
• Terminate the trust.

The statute adds that a modification or amendment may not grant a beneficial interest to a person not specifically provided for under the trust instrument (NRS 163.5553(1)(d)). Unless the trust says otherwise, a protector’s powers are fiduciary in nature (NRS 163.5553(3)). More on protectors is on Trustee Duties and Powers.

Decanting: Moving Property to a Second Trust

Nevada allows a trustee to “appoint” trust property from one trust into a second trust (this page calls it decanting). Unless a testamentary instrument or irrevocable trust provides otherwise, a trustee with discretion or authority to distribute income or principal to or for a beneficiary may exercise it by appointing that property to a second trust (NRS 163.556(1)). The second trust must be irrevocable (NRS 163.556(20)(c)).

The second trust may have as beneficiaries only beneficiaries of the original trust who may receive distributions now, or in the future at a time or event the original trust specifies (NRS 163.556(2)). Key rules include:

• The power is not a power to amend, so a trustee may use it even if the original trust is irrevocable or says it may not be amended (NRS 163.556(13)).
• A spendthrift provision in the original trust does not limit the power (NRS 163.556(14)).
• The trustee has no duty to use the power (NRS 163.556(12)).
• The power must be exercised by a writing signed by the trustee and filed with the trust’s records (NRS 163.556(9)).
• The second trust may be a special needs trust, pooled trust, or third-party trust as defined in the statute (NRS 163.556(19)).
• The trustee may name himself or herself, or any other person permitted to act as trustee, as trustee of the second trust (NRS 163.556(15)).

There are limits. For example, a trustee may not decant if it would reduce an income beneficiary’s income interest in certain trusts that took a marital or charitable tax deduction, or in certain grantor-retained annuity or unitrusts (NRS 163.556(3)(a)). Additional limits apply to property subject to a beneficiary’s current power of withdrawal and to certain gift-tax-excluded contributions (NRS 163.556(3)(b)-(c)).

A trustee who is also a beneficiary may not decant in certain situations, such as when the original trust limits the trustee’s discretion to make distributions to himself or herself by an ascertainable standard and the second trust would not apply the same standard (NRS 163.556(4)). A trustee who can be removed by beneficiaries and replaced with someone related or subordinate to a beneficiary may not decant to the extent it would increase the distributions that can be made to the beneficiaries holding that removal power, unless those distributions are limited by an ascertainable standard (NRS 163.556(5)).

Before decanting, the trustee may give a notice of proposed action or petition the court for approval. Either one must include the trustee’s opinion of how the change will affect the trustee’s compensation and other trust expenses (NRS 163.556(7)).

Combining, Dividing, and Renaming Trusts

Unless the trust instrument provides otherwise, a trustee may combine two or more trusts into one, or divide a trust into separate trusts, if doing so does not impair any beneficiary’s rights, substantially affect the accomplishment of the trust’s purposes, or violate the applicable rule against perpetuities (NRS 163.025(1)). If the trust does not expressly authorize this, it must be done by court order or through the notice of proposed action procedure, and the notice must summarize any anticipated tax consequences (NRS 163.025(2)).

Unless the trust instrument specifically provides otherwise, a trustee may also change the name of an irrevocable trust, or name one that has no name, unless it would be materially harmful to the trust’s administration or purposes (NRS 163.026).

Notice of Proposed Action

Several of these changes can be made through a “notice of proposed action.” The notice must be mailed to every adult beneficiary who receives or is entitled to receive income, or who would receive principal if the trust ended. It is not needed for anyone who consents in writing (NRS 164.725(3)).

The notice must describe the proposed action and give a deadline to object of at least 30 days after the notice is mailed (NRS 164.725(4)). If no beneficiary entitled to notice objects, and the other requirements are met, the trustee is not liable to any present or future beneficiary for that action (NRS 164.725(6)).

If a written objection is received in time, the trustee, trust protector, trust adviser, or a beneficiary may ask the court to approve, modify, or deny the action. The beneficiary has the burden of proving the action should not be taken or should be modified (NRS 164.725(7)).

Nonjudicial Settlement Agreements

A settlement agreement entered into by all indispensable parties can add, delete, or modify a trust term, merge or divide trusts, or terminate the trust, without court approval (NRS 164.940(1), (3)). The agreement is void to the extent it violates a material purpose of the trust or includes terms a court could not properly approve (NRS 164.940(2)). See Court Petitions and Disputes for how these agreements become effective.

Asking the Court to Modify or End a Trust

A trustee or beneficiary may petition the court to approve or direct the modification or termination of a trust, or the combination or division of trusts (NRS 153.031(1)(n)-(o)). The same relief is available for nontestamentary (living) trusts (NRS 164.015(1)).

Upon terms and conditions that are just and proper, the court may order a trust ended and distributed before the time the trust instrument provides, if administration or continued administration is no longer feasible or economical. An interested person may file the petition under NRS 164.010 and 164.015 (NRS 163.185).

Ending a Small or Uneconomical Trust

After notice to the beneficiaries, the trustee of a trust with total property worth less than $100,000, or that is uneconomical to administer, may terminate the trust if the trustee concludes the property’s value does not justify the cost of administration (NRS 163.187(1)). This does not apply to an “interested trustee,” such as an individual trustee who can currently receive trust income or principal (NRS 163.187(1), (5)(b)).

If the court finds the value does not justify the cost of administration, it may modify or terminate the trust, or remove the trustee and appoint a different one (NRS 163.187(2)). When a trust ends under this section, the trustee must distribute the property in a way consistent with the trust’s purposes (NRS 163.187(3)). This section does not apply to a trust holding an easement for conservation (NRS 163.187(4)).

Distributing Trust Property When a Trust Ends

If a petition is filed to distribute the residue (remaining property) of a trust estate, life estate, or estate for years, the clerk sets it for hearing and the petitioner gives notice under NRS 155.010 (NRS 153.060). A court may also be asked to identify beneficiaries and decide who receives property on final or partial termination, to the extent the trust does not say (NRS 153.031(1)(e)).

Except as the trust provides otherwise, and subject to the consent rule below, a trustee may distribute property and money in divided or undivided interests, with or without proration (NRS 163.027(1)). Each affected beneficiary must consent before a distribution is made without proration, unless the trust specifically authorizes it or it is otherwise authorized by law (NRS 163.027(2)).

If married settlors jointly establish a nontestamentary trust that provides for a pecuniary or fractional division of their community property when one settlor dies, the trustee may distribute community property on a non-pro rata basis, as long as the fair market value is the same as a pro rata distribution, unless the trust expressly provides otherwise (NRS 164.950(1)).

If an instrument requires a new separate trust to be distributed to its beneficiaries immediately after it is set up, because of circumstances existing when it is to be established, the executor, trustee, or other person holding the funding property may choose to distribute directly to those beneficiaries instead, unless the will or trust specifically prohibits it (NRS 163.188(1)). The statute has a separate provision for when the person transferring the property and the trustee of the separate trust are the same person (NRS 163.188(2)).

Life Estates and Estates for Years

If a will creates a life estate or an estate for years that continues after the estate is distributed, the court keeps jurisdiction until the residue is distributed to those entitled to it (NRS 153.020(1)). Any person entitled to share in that distribution may petition to prove the distribution, which ends the court’s jurisdiction when the court enters its decree (NRS 153.020(1)).

If the law or the instrument requires the tenant to account for use of the property, chapter 153’s trustee accounting rules apply to the tenant and, after death, to the tenant’s personal representative (NRS 153.050(1)). Even without that duty, the trustee accounting rules apply to the tenant’s personal representatives to determine the residue (NRS 153.050(2)). See Trustee Accountings.

How I Can Help

I help settlors, trustees, and beneficiaries review whether a trust can be changed or ended and which Nevada procedure fits, whether that is decanting, a trust protector’s action, a notice of proposed action, a nonjudicial settlement agreement, or a court petition. I can also help with final distributions and the paperwork that goes with them. Request a consultation to discuss your situation.

This page provides general information about Nevada trust law, based on the Nevada Revised Statutes as of the 2025 legislative session, and is not legal advice. Other Nevada laws, court rules, tax law, and case law also affect trusts. Every situation is different; consult an attorney about yours. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.