What makes my trust irrevocable?
When you create a trust, you decide whether the trust will be revocable or irrevocable. A
revocable trust can be changed or even dissolved by you at any time. An irrevocable trust,
however, can never be changed. The assets you put into it must stay there. Beneficiaries
cannot be added or deleted. And the only way to change the trustee is for that person to
die or agree to resign. Why, then, choose to make your trust irrevocable? For tax
advantages. An irrevocable trust itself pays income taxes on what its assets earn. When
you die, the trust property is not part of your estate and will not be subject to death
taxes. Conversely, revocable trusts offer no tax benefits at all. If you want lots of
flexibility, make your trust revocable. But if you want tax breaks, you must forgo
flexibility and form an irrevocable trust instead.