What is an Irrevocable Trust?

An irrevocable trust is a type of trust that cannot be modified or terminated without the permission of the beneficiary or beneficiaries. The grantor of an irrevocable trust removes all of their rights of ownership to the assets and once an irrevocable trust is created it is set in stone and cannot be changed by the grantor for any reason in the future. What are the benefits to an irrevocable trust?

An irrevocable trust agreement may offer some tax benefits especially with regards to your capital gains taxes. If an irrevocable trust is structured correctly, and assets are transferred into the trust, it's possible that those assets may be received as a step-up in basis to your beneficiaries upon your death. An irrevocable trust may provide a tax benefit to your primary residence by retaining your capital gains tax exclusion which you would not be able to do if it was received as a gift by the beneficiary of your trust. Some other benefits that an irrevocable trust could bring to your estate is that your Trustee can manage your investments more efficiently, you may be able to shift income to a lower tax bracket for your beneficiaries, and you can protect your assets for your beneficiaries if they are on Medicaid or SSI. The irrevocable trust will keep your property out of your estate for probate and estate tax purposes.

There are specialized irrevocable trusts, like special needs trusts and Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts.