Estate Planning And Probate Law Practice Test

An irrevocable trust is designed to be permanent: once the trust is created and funded, the grantor typically cannot revoke, modify, or amend its terms. Control over the assets passes to a trustee who must manage them according to the trust document for the benefit of the beneficiaries. This lack of ability to change or undo the arrangement is what sets it apart from other trust types. A living or inter vivos trust is usually revocable, meaning the grantor can alter or end it; a declaration of trust can be revocable or irrevocable depending on its terms, and “trust property” refers to the assets rather than a type of trust. The key idea is that the irrevocable trust separates ownership from control, achieving purposes like estate tax planning or asset protection, at the cost of surrendering the ability to alter the trust later.