General trust information, not a legal or tax opinion. The trust instrument and applicable law control.
A trust that the grantor cannot freely revoke under its terms and applicable law.
Read the governing terms
- Giving up revocation rights can change control, access, creditor, tax, benefit, and reporting consequences.
- Irrevocable does not always mean unchangeable under every circumstance; consent, court action, statutory procedures, or trust terms may permit limited modification.
- An irrevocable trust can limit the grantor's control and access, with consequences that depend on retained powers, beneficiaries, funding, and tax status.
- A revocable trust preserves the grantor's change power but generally leaves grantor-owned economic interests exposed to ordinary tax and creditor rules.
- A trust separates the governing instrument from the assets it actually owns or receives; both pieces must be reviewed.
- Trustee authority comes from the trust terms and applicable law, not from the title 'trustee' alone.
Confirm funding and authority
- retained powers, distribution standards, tax classification, and funding history
- revocation and amendment provisions plus current capacity and successor terms
- the complete trust, amendments, schedules, and certifications
- deeds, assignments, account titles, and beneficiary confirmations showing funding
Administration and exit questions
- Which rights were actually given up and which were retained?
- Who may amend or revoke, and what changes upon incapacity or death?
- Which assets are legally connected to the trust?
- What event activates a successor trustee's authority?
Risks to pause on
- Transferring property before understanding control, tax, benefit, and creditor consequences may be difficult to reverse.
- Marketing language about 'protection' should not be assumed to mean creditor or tax protection for the grantor.
- Signing a trust without completing asset-specific funding steps can leave the intended property outside the plan.