Brian Craig

Brian Craig has more than 20 years of experience as a lawyer. Before starting his own law firm, Brian worked for several years in the legal publishing and legal information services industry as an attorney for Thomson-Reuters and as a legal writer/analyst for Wolters Kluwer gaining experience with contracts, employment law, real estate law, tax law, privacy law, and other practice areas.

Besides helping clients, Brian teaches online legal courses at Purdue University Global. He previously taught at the University of Minnesota Law School.

Brian is also an accomplished legal writer. He authored Cyberlaw: The Law of the Internet and Information Technology, a textbook published by Pearson, and Stringfellow Acid Pits: The Toxic and Legal Legacy (University of Michigan Press). He has also written other books and articles relating to real estate law, environmental law, privacy law, legal writing, and legal history.

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California

State Bar of California

Minnesota

Minnesota Supreme Court

Utah

Utah State Bar

Attorney

Law Office of Brian Craig

2019 - Current

Faculty

Purdue University Global

2018 - Current

Online Instructor

Brigham Young University-Idaho

2010 - 2022

Faculty

Kaplan University

2008 - 2018

Purdue University Global acquired Kaplan University in March 2018.

Paralegal Program Chair/Instructor

Globe University/Broadview University

2007 - 2017

Attorney

Thomson-Reuters

2002 - 2010

Faculty

University of Minnesota Law School

2007 - 2008

Law Clerk

Idaho District Court

2001 - 2001

judicial law clerk for Idaho District Judge Carl Kerrick

Legislative Aide

California State Legislature

1997 - 1998

University of Idaho College of Law

2001

Brigham Young University

1997

Outstanding Service Team Award - Faculty Coaching

Purdue University Global College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

2021

Faculty Scholarship Award Winner

Purdue University Global

2021

Outstanding Service Team Award - Seminar Taskforce

Purdue University Global College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

2019

Online Instructor of the Year

Broadview University

2017

Instructor of the Year

Globe University

2008

Utah State Bar  # 17050

Member

Current

J. Reuben Clark Law Society

Member

Current

Stringfellow Acid Pits: The Toxic and Legal Legacy

University of Michigan Press

2020

Latter Day Lawyers (foreword by Senator Harry Reid)

Kindle Direct Publishing

2019

Effective Use of the Hyphen, En Dash, and Em Dash in Legal Writing

Federal Lawyer Magazine (offical publication of the Federal Bar Association)

October, 2019

Book Review: Before Lincoln Saved the Union, He Fought to Save a Client from the Gallows

Utah Bar Journal

September, 2019

Why Young Families Need an Estate Plan

Cache Valley Family Magazine

September, 2019

Malware, Cyberattacks, and Cyber Liability Insurance, Continuing legal education course, Logan, Utah

July 12, 2019

Law Office of Brian Craig, PLLC

Avoiding Sexual Harassment in Online Learning, Purdue University Global General Education Conference

May 11, 2018

Copyright, Privacy, and Defamation Issues for Nonfiction Authors, Nonfiction Authors Association, Teleseminar

October 18, 2017

Nonfiction Authors Associatio

Certificate of Compliance

ControlScan

Q. Can I amend my revocable trust myself or need an attorney?

June 24, 2025

A: The terms of the original trust instrument will dictate whether the trust may be amended and the manner in which the trust may be amended. Some trusts are revocable and other trusts are irrevocable. Getting a lawyer to assist with a trust amendment is recommended to make sure that the amendment is permitted and complies with the terms of the original trust and amendments.

Trust amendments are often litigated. A Hawaii court in Matter of Tr. Est. of Daoang, 87 Haw. 200, 953 P.2d 959 (Ct. App. 1998) held that an amendment to a trust document for a self-trusteed revocable living trust was valid, even though signature of settlor-trustee was not notarized, when the trust document did not require notarization of signatures on the trust amendment.

But in Florida, Grassfield v. Grassfield, 381 So. 3d 628 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2023), a Florida court held that the settlor/trustee's amendments to a revocable trust, which removed the co-trustee, changed the beneficiary, and named the settlor/trustee's wife as successor trustee, did not substantially comply with method for amending trust provided for in the trust.

In Smith v. Kirkland, 2017, 392 P.3d 847, 831 Utah Adv. Rep. 39, 2017 UT App 16 (Utah Ct. App. 2017), the Utah Court of Appeals held that a trust was not invalidated by the trustor's failure to prepare or deliver “Lease and Stewardship Agreements” before his death. Although it was undisputed that the trustor failed to fulfill the preparation and delivery as required by declaration of trust, the district court had statutory authority to modify the terms of the trust if an unexpected event occurred. Utah Code section 75–7–412 provides that a district court “may modify the administrative or dispositive terms of a trust or terminate the trust if, because of circumstances not anticipated by the settlor, modification or termination will further the purposes of the trust. To the extent practicable, the modification must be made in accordance with the settlor's probable intention.”  

If a trust settlor attempts to amend the trust without the use of a lawyer, then the purported trust amendment may end up costing more money down the line with litigation. For example, Priscilla Presley contested a 2016 amendment to Lisa Marie Presley's living trust that largely controls the music royalties for Elvis Presley, which removed Priscilla and Barry Siegel as co-trustees and named Lisa Marie's children, Riley Keough and Benjamin Keough, as successors. After some litigation, the parties settled out of court.

Even though a trust settlor "can" amend the trust without a lawyer, the trust settlor or grantor should also ask themselves whether they "should" amend the trust without a lawyer. ... Read More

Q. The attorney that wrote up our trusts died one year ago. No one contacted us. No one answers phone or email. Records??

December 10, 2020

A: As a best practice, clients should safeguard estate planning documents rather than the lawyer or law firm. Having a scanned digital copy is also a good idea. You might be able to find some records with the county recorder's office if real estate was transferred to the trust. Otherwise, you might have to do a restatement of the trust. Consider contacting another estate planning attorney.

Q. Is it a bad idea to move out of state before a court hearing for a class B misdemeanor for shoplifting under $500?

August 8, 2020

A: Consider contacting a Utah criminal defense lawyer. A person convicted of a Class B misdemeanor can face up to six months in jail. Usually, a criminal defendant for a class B misdemeanor needs to make an initial court appearance within 14 days, even it is by video. If the defendant fails to appear, the judge will issue a bench warrant which means that the defendant can be arrested by any law enforcement officer. Most courts are doing video hearings by Webex in Utah with COVID-19. I usually have clients come to my office for court appearances by video. After an initial appearance, the judge may impose certain travel conditions when the defendant is on pretrial release. In some situations, a person could move to another state but may need to come back to Utah for court appearances. There may also be conditions if the person is on probation or parole. ... Read More