Irrevocable Trust

An irrevocable trust is a legal arrangement where the grantor permanently transfers assets out of their personal estate. Once funded, the grantor typically cannot reclaim the assets, modify the trust terms, or dissolve the structure without beneficiary consent.

This permanence is the source of its power. Because you no longer "own" the assets, they're generally shielded from creditors, lawsuits, and estate taxes.

Irrevocable trusts are foundational in asset protection and estate tax reduction strategies. They include structures like irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), and charitable remainder trusts.

The trade-off is control. You give up direct access in exchange for protection and tax efficiency. The design of the trust terms — who serves as trustee, what distributions are permitted — becomes critical.