Trust Agreement

• When you draw up a trust, you can state in the trust documents how the trust is going to end. If the purpose is to pass on property after your death, it will terminate as soon as your successor trustee -- the person you choose to take over after your pass on -- distributes the assets. If the trust beneficiaries are minors, the trust can, instead, last until they're adults and no longer need someone else to manage their money.
  
  

Types of Trust

• Living trusts can be either revocable or irrevocable. If you want to terminate a revocable trust before it completes its purpose, you have the legal right to do so. Ending an irrevocable trust is much harder. According to the Legal Match website, some states make all trusts irrevocable unless the trust declaration specifically states otherwise. Revocable and irrevocable trusts have different effects on estate planning, taxes and your control of the trust assets, so make sure your trust declaration reflects your intentions.
  
  

Revocation

• To terminate a revocable trust, you transfer the assets back to your name, then dissolve the trust. You can terminate an irrevocable trust if you meet the conditions set by your state's law. California, for example, allows you to revoke an irrevocable trust if a majority of the beneficiaries supports your decision or if the value of the assets is so low that the trust is worthless. In either case, you'll need a judge's approval to terminate the trust.
  
  

Problems

• A revocable living trust doesn't terminate at your death, but it does transform into an irrevocable trust. For it to operate properly, however, you'll have to have a successor trustee to take over management of the assets, distribute them according to your wishes, then dissolve the trust. It may also be a good idea to have more than one beneficiary listed, in case the main beneficiary dies with you. You must also remember to put your assets in the trust's name, something the Nolo legal website says many people neglect to do.