Arkansas: Revocable Trust Amendment Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law and revocability presumption

Ark. Code Ann. § 28-73-602(a) permits the settlor to revoke or amend unless the
trust terms expressly make the trust irrevocable. That default does not apply
to a trust created under an instrument executed before September 1, 2005, so
the date boundary must be checked before relying on the statute's presumption.

Who may amend or restate

The settlor is the ordinary actor under § 28-73-602. Sections 28-73-601(b) and
28-73-602(e) add an agent route, while § 28-73-602(f) adds court-supervised
conservator and fallback-guardian routes.

Arkansas states no distinct complete-restatement procedure. A restatement that
replaces all operative terms is a comprehensive amendment and must satisfy the
same power, method, capacity, and co-settlor rules.

Trust method and exclusivity

Section 28-73-602(c)(1) accepts substantial compliance with a method supplied
by the trust. Exact duplication of every step is not the statutory phrase, but
the completed acts still must substantially comply with the chosen method.

If the trust states no method or does not expressly make its method exclusive,
the alternatives in subsection (c)(2) remain available. Merely stating a
method is not the same as expressly making it exclusive.

Alternative statutory method

The first alternative is a later will or codicil that either expressly refers
to the trust or specifically devises property that otherwise would have passed
under the trust. The text uses "or" between those connections; it does not
require both in every case.

The second alternative is any other method manifesting clear and convincing
evidence of the settlor's intent. That is an evidentiary route, not a rule that
every amendment must use a particular form.

Signature, witnesses, notary, and delivery

Section 28-73-602(c) states no universal amendment signature, witness,
acknowledgment, notarization, trustee-signature, acceptance, or delivery rule.
Substantial compliance with the trust's method requires the steps that method
supplies. A later will or codicil must be executed as that instrument, while
another method must carry the required clear-and-convincing proof of intent.

Subsection (d)'s direction to deliver trust property applies upon revocation.
It is not a rule requiring delivery of every amendment document to the trustee.

Capacity standard

Ark. Code Ann. § 28-73-601(a) makes amendment capacity the same as the capacity
required to make a will. The Trust Code does not replace that reference with a
separate amendment-only cognitive test.

For an agent, subsection (b) shifts the relevant time. The power of attorney
must expressly grant authority for the action, and the settlor must have had
capacity to take that action when the power of attorney was executed.

Multiple settlors and contributed property

For community property in a multi-settlor trust, both spouses must act jointly
to amend even though either spouse may revoke alone. For other property, each
settlor may amend the portion attributable to that settlor's contribution.

When fewer than all settlors revoke or amend, the trustee must promptly notify
the other settlors. This is a statutory notice duty, not merely a recommended
receipt practice.

Agent, guardian, conservator, and court authority

The 2021 amendment to § 28-73-601 requires express authority in the power of
attorney and settlor capacity at the time that power was executed. Section
28-73-602(e) separately limits the exercised power to the extent expressly
authorized by the trust or power. Read together, general agency language is
not enough, and the trust can still limit the extent of the action.

A conservator may exercise the settlor's amendment power only with approval of
the supervising court. If no conservator has been appointed, a guardian may use
the same court-approval route. Appointment alone does not complete an amendment.

Effective time, notice, and trustee protection

The amendment becomes operative when the selected trust method or available
statutory alternative is completed. Section 28-73-602 adds prompt notice to
other settlors when fewer than all act, but it states no general lifetime
beneficiary-notice requirement.

The trustee's knowledge matters separately. Under subsection (g), a trustee
who does not know of the amendment is not liable to the settlor or the settlor's
successors for distributions and other actions taken on the assumption that
the old terms still governed.

What trips people up

• Treating a stated method as automatically exclusive. The statutory
  alternatives close only when the trust expressly makes its method exclusive.
• Requiring both will connections. A later will or codicil may expressly
  refer to the trust or specifically devise the property that otherwise would
  pass under it.
• Using only general POA language. Current § 28-73-601(b) requires the
  power of attorney expressly to authorize the trust action.
• Forgetting the nonacting settlors. When fewer than all act, the trustee
  has a prompt statutory notice duty to the others.

Common questions

Must an Arkansas trust amendment be signed, witnessed, or notarized?

Not under one universal Trust Code rule. The chosen route controls: the trust's
method may require those acts, a will or codicil follows its own execution law,
and another method needs clear and convincing evidence of amendment intent.

Must the amendment be delivered to or accepted by the trustee?

Section 28-73-602(c) does not make trustee delivery or acceptance universal.
The trust's own method may require delivery. The statute's express delivery
command in subsection (d) concerns trust property after revocation.

Can a guardian amend the trust?

Only if no conservator has been appointed and the court supervising the
guardianship approves the exercise under § 28-73-602(f).

Statutes and sources

• Ark. Code Ann. § 28-73-601 — will-level settlor capacity and the current
  express-POA and capacity-at-execution agent rule. Official Arkansas 2021 Act
  804
  (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Ark. Code Ann. § 28-73-602 — revocability, pre-2005 boundary,
  co-settlors, substantial compliance, alternatives, agent and fiduciary
  authority, notice, and trustee protection. Official Arkansas 2005 Act
  1031
  (accessed 2026-08-10; current compiled text and later amendment sweep checked).