Arkansas: Revocable Living Trust Creation Requirements
The short answer
Arkansas requires capacity, intent, identifiable property, a definite beneficiary or statutory exception, trustee duties, and a lawful achievable purpose benefiting beneficiaries. Creation may occur by transfer, owner declaration, power of appointment, or an expressly authorized agent; an oral trust is possible by clear-and-convincing proof, and the settlor may be trustee and beneficiary unless that person is both sole trustee and sole beneficiary. A post-September 1, 2005 trust is revocable unless expressly irrevocable; creation needs no court registration, but a separate home deed has execution and recording rules.
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This is the general rule in Arkansas. Ezel applies current Arkansas law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and scope | Arkansas Trust Code, Ark. Code Ann. Title 28, Chapter 73; UTC-based ordinary adult revocable inter vivos trust (§§ 28-73-101, 28-73-401–407, 28-73-601–602) |
|---|---|
| Settlor capacity and intent | Will-level capacity for revocable trust; settlor must indicate intent. Agent-created/action trust valid when POA expressly grants authority and settlor had required capacity when POA executed (§§ 28-73-402, 28-73-601; 2021 Act 804) |
| Creation method and effective time | Lifetime/death-effective transfer to another trustee; owner declaration over identifiable property; power-of-appointment exercise; expressly authorized POA agent. Trustee accepts by trust method or delivery, powers, duties, or other acceptance conduct (§§ 28-73-401, .701) |
| Trust property and funding | Transfer route requires property to another trustee; declaration route requires identifiable property already held by owner. No statutory nominal-dollar minimum; signing does not replace each asset's deed, assignment, delivery, or account change (§§ 28-73-401, .402) |
| Beneficiary and purpose | Definite beneficiary ascertainable now/future or statutory exception; indefinite-class selection power valid. Purpose must be lawful, public-policy-compliant, achievable, and benefit beneficiaries (§§ 28-73-402, .404) |
| Trustee eligibility and same-person roles | Trustee must have duties and accept. Settlor may be trustee and beneficiary, but same person cannot be sole trustee and sole beneficiary; another present/future beneficiary avoids the bar (§§ 28-73-402, .701) |
| Instrument, signature, witness, and notary | Oral trust possible with clear-and-convincing proof unless another statute requires form; no universal trust witness/notary rule. Separate home deed follows two-disinterested-witness/acknowledgment text and must be proved or acknowledged for recording (§ 28-73-407; §§ 18-12-104, -201) |
| Revocability default and reserved power | Unless expressly irrevocable, revocable; default excludes instruments executed before Sept. 1, 2005. Use trust method or later will/codicil or another clear-and-convincing method. Agent authority is expressly limited by trust/POA and 2021 capacity rule (§§ 28-73-601–602) |
| Registration, recording, and third-party effect | No creation registration or continuing supervision unless court orders it. Trustee may furnish certification. Record separate home deed in county for constructive notice and validity against later value purchaser without actual notice and judgment creditor (§§ 28-73-201, -1013; § 14-15-404) |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law and scope
Ark. Code Ann. § 28-73-101 names Title 28, Chapter 73 the Arkansas Trust Code.
It is Arkansas's version of the Uniform Trust Code and governs the ordinary
adult revocable living trust covered here.
This page keeps creation and execution separate from specialized trusts, tax
and creditor planning, wills, post-death administration, and the transfer law
for each asset.
Settlor capacity and intent
Ark. Code Ann. § 28-73-402(a) and § 28-73-601 require settlor capacity and intent
and apply the capacity required to make a will to creation, amendment,
revocation, contributions, and trustee directions involving a revocable trust.
Official 2021 Act 804 adds an agent route. The power of attorney must expressly
grant authority for the act, and the settlor must have had the required
capacity when the power of attorney was executed.
Creation method and effective time
Ark. Code Ann. §§ 28-73-401 and 28-73-402(d) permit a lifetime or death-effective transfer to
another trustee, an owner's declaration over identifiable property, exercise
of a power of appointment in favor of a trustee, or creation by an agent whose
power of attorney expressly grants that authority.
A separately designated trustee accepts under § 28-73-701 by substantially
complying with the trust's method. If no method exists or it is not exclusive,
accepting delivery, exercising powers, performing duties, or otherwise
indicating acceptance can suffice.
Trust property and funding
Section 28-73-401's transfer route requires property to move to another
trustee. Its declaration route requires identifiable property that the owner
already holds as trustee. Section 28-73-402 requires trust property through
those creation elements and states no universal nominal-dollar minimum.
The route must match the asset. Signing the trust does not itself replace every
deed, assignment, delivery, or account registration.
Beneficiary and purpose
Ark. Code Ann. § 28-73-402 requires a definite beneficiary or one of its listed
statutory exceptions. A beneficiary may be ascertainable now or in the future,
and a trustee may hold a valid selection power over an indefinite class.
Ark. Code Ann. § 28-73-404 separately requires a lawful, public-policy-
compliant, and achievable purpose. The trust and its terms must benefit its
beneficiaries.
Trustee eligibility and same-person roles
Section 28-73-402 requires trustee duties and bars the same person from being
both sole trustee and sole beneficiary. It does not prevent the settlor from
serving as trustee and beneficiary when another present or future beneficiary
keeps the roles from being sole and identical.
A separately designated trustee accepts or rejects under § 28-73-701.
Instrument, signature, witness, and notary
Ark. Code Ann. § 28-73-407 permits an oral trust unless another statute
requires a different form. Creation and terms then require clear and convincing
evidence. The Arkansas Trust Code creation provisions impose no universal
witness or notary ceremony on an ordinary trust.
A home transfer to another trustee is a separate conveyance. Ark. Code Ann.
§ 18-12-104 states the deed's two-disinterested-witness and acknowledgment
routes, and § 18-12-201 requires proof or acknowledgment before recording.
Revocability default and reserved power
Ark. Code Ann. § 28-73-602 makes a trust revocable unless its terms expressly
make it irrevocable. That default does not apply to an instrument executed
before September 1, 2005. Multiple-settlor powers follow the statute's
community-property and contribution rules, with prompt notice to other
settlors after fewer than all act.
The settlor may substantially comply with the trust's method. If the method is
missing or not exclusive, a later will or codicil can work with the statute's
express-reference or specifically devised-property language, and another
clear-and-convincing method may also work. An agent is subject to § 28-73-602's
express-authority limit and Act 804's express-POA and capacity-at-execution
requirements; a conservator or guardian needs court approval.
Registration, recording, and third-party effect
Ark. Code Ann. § 28-73-201 says a trust is not subject to continuing judicial
supervision unless a court orders it. The creation provisions impose no court-
registration filing. Section § 28-73-1013 instead permits a trustee to furnish a
certification without dispositive terms and protects good-faith reliance.
For a separate home deed, Ark. Code Ann. § 14-15-404 makes county filing
constructive notice. An unrecorded instrument is not good against a later
purchaser for value without actual notice or against a judgment creditor; the
instrument must be duly executed and acknowledged or proved before filing.
What trips people up
An agent needs express authority. Act 804 added trust creation by an agent,
but only when the power of attorney expressly grants it and the settlor had
capacity when signing that power.
Oral trust does not mean easy proof. Section 28-73-407 requires clear and
convincing evidence, and another statute may still require a writing for the
transaction or asset.
The September 2005 line matters. Section 28-73-602's revocable default does
not apply to instruments executed before September 1, 2005.
A trust declaration and a deed are different routes. Declaring identified
property held as trustee is not the same as transferring a home to another
trustee, which requires a separate conveyance and recording analysis.
Common questions
Does an Arkansas living trust need witnesses or notarization?
Not universally under the Trust Code. Section 28-73-407 permits an oral trust
under a clear-and-convincing proof rule. A separate deed transferring a home
has its own witness, acknowledgment, proof, and recording requirements.
Can the Arkansas settlor be trustee and beneficiary?
Yes, so long as the same person is not both sole trustee and sole beneficiary.
A present or future beneficiary can keep those roles from merging.
Can an Arkansas agent create or change a living trust?
Yes, within Act 804's limits. The power of attorney must expressly authorize
the action, and the settlor must have had the required capacity when the power
was executed.
Must an Arkansas living trust be registered with a court?
The cited creation provisions impose no registration filing. Section
28-73-201 says continuing supervision exists only if a court orders it.
Is a new Arkansas trust revocable automatically?
Ordinarily yes: § 28-73-602 makes it revocable unless expressly irrevocable.
That default does not apply to an instrument executed before September 1,
2005.
Statutes and sources
- Ark. Code Ann. §§ 28-73-101, 28-73-201, 28-73-402(a)–(c), 28-73-404, 28-73-407, 28-73-602, 28-73-701, and 28-73-1013 — OCAR codified baseline for code identity, creation elements, purpose, oral proof, revocation, trustee acceptance, court role, and certification. Accessed July 30, 2026.
- 2021 Ark. Acts 804, §§ 3–5 — current agent-creation, agent-capacity, and revocable-trust capacity amendments. Accessed July 30, 2026.
- Ark. Code Ann. §§ 18-12-104 and 18-12-201 and § 14-15-404 — separate deed execution, recordability, notice, and third-party effect. Accessed July 30, 2026.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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