In “Time for a New Restatement,” published in Probate & Property (Jan./Feb. 2026), Professor Thomas Gallanis argues that the time has come for a new Restatement of Trusts to replace the Third Restatement. He argues that the Third Restatement does not adequately address more modern features of trust practice, including directed trusts, trust decanting, and nonjudicial settlement agreements.
I agree that the Third Restatement is likely outdated. Much of what matters most in contemporary trust law either developed late in the Restatement (Third) process or developed outside the common law altogether through statute. In that sense, the Third Restatement increasingly reads as incomplete.
But Gallanis’s proposal also raises a more fundamental question: what exactly is the role of a Restatement of Trusts in the modern era of detailed trust codes and uniform acts? It is not obvious whether the purpose of a new Restatement is to guide doctrine, summarize it, or compete with legislative choices made by the states.
A Fourth Restatement of Trusts may well be warranted. Whether it would be influential, or simply descriptive, remains to be seen.