What to know about a revocable and irrevocable living trust
Transcript:
Hi, I'm Jordan Flake, managing partner of Clear Counsel Law Group. A lot of our clients ask us what's the difference between a revocable trust and a irrevocable trust. As the names imply, a revocable trust you can revoke it. That includes amending it, changing it. Altering it over time, adapting it to your life circumstances. One other subtle feature of a revocable trust a lot of people don't know about is that you can access the assets that are held in the trust at any time. You can liquidate them and use them however you want.
An irrevocable trust is very different because, as the name also implies, you can't revoke it. Once it's created and once you place assets in that box that is the irrevocable trust, they're gone. They can still be used for your healthcare benefit, maintenance, support, things like that; but the reality is, under almost all circumstances with the irrevocable trust, you can no longer reach into that box, grab out those assets and use them however you like. In a sense, you've disclaimed ownership or some control over assets in an irrevocable trust.
Because of this, a lot of people opt for the revocable trust. There's a lot more flexibility. Why would you ever want an irrevocable trust? The irrevocable trust has a really big advantage over the revocable trust because it is also much more creditor protected. If you properly place assets away into an irrevocable trust and you do it correctly and the right amount of time passes, and you go through all the formalities, those assets can actually be kept out of the hands of your creditors to where they can no longer collect against them. In a sense, you think about it, you don't have access to those assets and neither do they. That's the give and take of irrevocable trusts.
Revocable trusts, you have access to the assets, so do your creditors, but it comes with the advantage that it's amendable, changeable, and you can reach in grab those assets. That's the difference between revocable trust and an irrevocable trust. We'd love to talk to you about both those options.
