I know upon the death of the grantor/trustee, a trust becomes irrevocable. Are we required to have the customer re-title their existing living or revocable trust account to specify "Irrevocable"? Should they provide any new documentation (obviously the death certificate but an updated trust agreement or affidavit/certificate of trust)? Our bank's policy is to obtain a copy of the original trust agreement at account opening rather than an affidavit of trust. What if the word "revocable" currently appears in the account title? Would changing the title be something that is driven by the bank's own policies?

I think I may have just answered my own questions. It's in the word: IRREVOCABLE; the nutshell definition of an irrevocable trust is that it cannot be changed or altered which would include the title? Once it's irrevocable, it's set and we should not change the title, is that interpretation correct?

I am not sure why this is of concern to you. The bank has no call on the title of a trust. I could call it the Monkey/Ape Trust Dated xx/xx/xx. Whether the trust is actually revocable or irrevocable has nothing to do with the title of the trust. When the grantor dies on a revocable trust, the assets belong to the trust - there is no longer anyone alive that is allowed to revoke the trust. It does not change the name of the trust.

This article will help you understand the differences in how and when 'irrevocable' comes into play on a trust. An Irrevocable Trust and the grantor(s) of a Living Trust passing making that trust irrevocable are two different things.