Revocable vs. Irrevocable Trusts

A living trust can be revocable or irrevocable, says Yahoo Finance’s recent article entitled “Revocable vs. Irrevocable Trusts: Which Is Better?” It is certainly true that not everyone needs a trust, and there are many different types of trusts you can establish. But, when considering a trust, clients need to consider the pros and cons of revocable versus irrevocable trusts.

Revocable Trust

A revocable trust is a trust that can be changed or terminated at any time during the lifetime of the trustor (i.e., the person making the trust). This means you could:

  • Add or remove beneficiaries at any time
  • Transfer new assets into the trust or remove ones that are in it
  • Change the terms of the trust concerning how assets should be managed or distributed to beneficiaries; and
  • Terminate or end the trust completely.

When you die, a revocable trust automatically becomes irrevocable and no further changes can be made to its terms.

The big advantage of choosing a revocable trust is flexibility. A revocable trust allows you to make changes and to grow with your needs. Revocable trusts can also allow your beneficiaries to avoid probate when you die.  Most clients use revocable trusts during their lifetimes, although they might establish irrevocable trusts for other people or to address specific circumstances.

However, a revocable trust doesn’t offer the same type of protection against creditors as an irrevocable trust. If you’re sued, creditors could still try to attach trust assets to satisfy a judgment. The assets in a revocable trust are part of your taxable estate and subject to federal estate taxes when you die, which is usually a good thing, but in some assets isn’t sufficient tax planning.  It also provides no advance asset protection for Medicaid.

Irrevocable Trust

An irrevocable trust is permanent. If you create an irrevocable trust during your lifetime, any assets you transfer to the trust stay in the trust. You can’t add or remove beneficiaries or change the terms of the trust.

Irrevocable trusts are commonly used for creditor protection or tax planning.  There are times, such as when considering long-term care Medicaid in a nursing home, or reducing the size of your estate for estate tax purposes, that you want the asset not in your name and out of your personal control.  The irrevocable trust can achieve that by having the trustee own it instead of you.

Irrevocable trusts created during your lifetime are often done in addition to a revocable trust so that you achieve the particular benefits of an irrevocable trust only for that property which needs the advantage.

Irrevocable trusts are more commonly something you set up to be effective at your death.  We’ve written extensively on this, but it is extremely common to leave your children’s inheritance to them in irrevocable trusts that set the rules by which they benefit from the trust and provide creditor and divorce protection to the beneficiary.  This also works with spendthrift beneficiaries and similar trusts are used when a beneficiary has a disability and is using government benefits.

See here for more:  https://galligan-law.com/how-do-trusts-work-in-your-estate-plan/  

It is worth noting that irrevocable trusts, despite their name, sometimes can be revoked, changed or you can remove property from them.

For example, irrevocable trusts might have a power of substitution allowing you to take out property as long as you put equal value property back in.  Irrevocable trusts can sometimes be revoked or changed by the agreement of all parties (including beneficiaries) although that doesn’t work if minors are involved.  Irrevocable trusts that are broken and no longer serve their original purpose can also sometimes be fixed by a process called decanting.  It involves creating a new trust and “decanting” the assets of the first into the second.

If you are using irrevocable trusts you are working with very sophisticated tax and creditor laws, so you’d have to check with your attorney if those options will fit with the trust you are creating.  It is also not something we like to rely on, which is one of the reasons irrevocable trusts are used less.

Speak with an experienced estate planning or probate attorney to see if a revocable or an irrevocable trust is best for you and your goals.

Reference: Yahoo Finance (Sep. 10, 2022) “Revocable vs. Irrevocable Trusts: Which Is Better?”

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Should I Use a Corporate Trustee?

Recently, a client decided to include a corporate trustee as part of their estate plan.  When discussing the matter, they were surprised at how affordable they can be, and that they were glad they choose that route.  Thinking of that conversation and how important it is to name a proper trustee, I wanted to highlight some benefits of corporate trustees.

The Quad Cities Times’ recent article entitled “Benefits of a corporate trustee” warns that care should be taken when selecting someone to serve in this role. Now, many clients have loved ones in their lives who are capable of serving as a trustee or other fiduciary, but for some, family members may not have the experience, ability and time required to perform the duties of a trustee. Those with personal relationships with beneficiaries may cause conflicts within the family. You can name almost any adult, including family members or friends, but think about a corporate or professional trustee as the possible answer.  I also covered how to choose a trustee here:  https://galligan-law.com/how-to-pick-a-trustee/

Here are some reasons to use a corporate trustee:

Experience and Dedication. Corporate trustees can devote their full attention to the trust assets and possess experience, resources, access to tax, legal, and investment knowledge that may be hard for the average person to duplicate. It’s their job and they hire professionals with backgrounds in these areas.  Many people who choose a corporate trustee do so for this reason.

Relative Cost.  This may seem a strange reason to consider a corporate trustee.  Most people don’t consider them at all because professionals will charge fees to serve.  However, trustee fees are often regulated by law or by the trust document.  Both individuals such as family members, and corporate trustees might only be able to charge the same rate.  Given the fact the trust might pay your middle child and an office of professionals the same rate, that isn’t a bad deal.  Further, corporate trustees sometimes take assets under management.  This means they would invest your assets for you, and therefore make money on the investments like a financial advisor does.  If they do, they often include those fees at a reduced rate when serving as a trustee.  This means you actually save money in the end.  It is also possible that they don’t take money under management so that your investment advisor can continue to invest the funds if that’s your preference.

Successor Trustee. If you choose to name personal trustees, you may provide in your trust documents for a corporate trustee as a successor, in case none of the personal trustees is available, capable, or willing to serve. Corporate trustees are institutions that don’t become incapacitated or die. You should consider the type of assets you own and then choose the most qualified trustee to manage them.

Middleman.  Clients sometimes struggle to admit to their estate planning attorney that their families don’t get along.  They don’t want to talk about how a child of theirs struggles with addiction, is dependent on them for support or otherwise would be difficult for a family member trustee to deal with.  In that situation, corporate trustees have the benefit of professional detachment.  The beneficiary can be as angry with them as they want, and the anger won’t be directed to one of your loved ones.  This can make professional trustees an attractive middleman or wall between a difficult beneficiary and the rest of the family.

In sum, many estate owners can benefit from the advantages of a corporate trustee.

Ask an experienced estate planning attorney when working on a trust about naming the appropriate corporate trustee, and the advisability of including terms for your registered investment advisor to manage assets for your trust.

Reference: Quad Cities Times (Nov. 28, 2021) “Benefits of a corporate trustee”

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Revocable vs. Irrevocable Trust – What’s the Difference?

Sometimes you need to look past the trust's name to see if it is truly revocable or irrevocable.
Sometimes you need to look past a trust’s name to see if it is truly revocable or irrevocable.

At first, the difference between a revocable trust and an irrevocable trust may appear very simple. One would think that, as the names imply, a revocable trust is one that can be terminated or amended, while an irrevocable trust is one that cannot be changed.  However, as often happens with the law, things aren’t always what they seem as reported in the article “What’s the difference between a revocable and irrevocable trust” from Market Watch. 

Sometimes you have to look beyond the name of the trust to determine if it is truly revocable or irrevocable.

A revocable trust, often referred to as a revocable living trust, is one that can be changed or terminated by the person who created the trust, whom we shall refer to as a trust maker. A revocable living trust is often used as a substitute for a Will because, like a Will, it can be amended by the trust maker depending on the circumstances, and it can help avoid probate if the trust maker’s property is titled in the name of the trust (or the trust is named as a beneficiary on the trust maker’s accounts and other assets).

But, a revocable trust becomes an irrevocable trust on the trust maker’s death. Also, the trust maker’s incapacity during life may result in a revocable trust becoming irrevocable. This can be confusing because the trust may keep the same name (for example, the John Doe Revocable Living Trust), but, if John Doe is deceased, the revocable living trust is really an irrevocable trust.

A revocable trust is considered almost an alter ego of the trust maker. As a result, a revocable trust does not provide creditor protection. From a tax standpoint, a revocable trust belongs to the trust maker and is included in the trust maker’s estate when calculating the estate tax.

As for an irrevocable trust, one would generally think that it is a trust that cannot be changed. But this impression, too, may be deceptive. A trust maker, beneficiary, or an independent person may be given powers to make certain changes to an irrevocable trust. Those changes may include the removal and replacement of a trustee and the ability to change or add beneficiaries.

An irrevocable trust is considered to be totally separate from the trust maker. It is usually constructed to avoid having the assets of the trust included the trust maker’s estate for estate tax purposes. An irrevocable trust can offer the beneficiary creditor and divorce protection, as well as prudent management of trust assets if the beneficiary is not good with financial matters. That’s why many parents create irrevocable trusts for their children when making gifts instead of making gifts to their children directly.

In addition to the trust maker giving the power in limited circumstances to change certain provisions of an irrevocable trust, an irrevocable trust may be “reformed” by a court, if it can be shown that the trust’s purposes can no longer be carried out.

And many states have passed laws allowing an irrevocable trust to be “decanted” – meaning that the assets of the original trust may be poured like wine into a new trust that includes provisions that are better suited to the current situation. These laws for the most part include safeguards to make sure that this is not a unilateral decision on the part of the trustee or the trust maker and the decanting is permitted only if it is in the best interests of the beneficiaries.

Of course, a trust maker may always prohibit reformation or decanting when creating an irrevocable trust, but, if the trust is to last for generations, it may make sense to allow limited ways for the irrevocable trust to adapt to changing circumstances.

So the next time you come across a reference to a revocable or irrevocable trust, look beyond the name to determine whether the trust is really revocable or irrevocable.

Reference: Market Watch (Oct. 8, 2021) “What’s the difference between a revocable and irrevocable trust”

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