There are two primary types of trusts, revocable living trusts and irrevocable trusts. People often come to us curious or confused about the differences between revocable living trusts and irrevocable trusts.
Revocable Living Trust
A revocable living trust, also known simply as a living trust, is by far the most commonly used form of trust in estate planning. As long as you are living, there is absolutely no tax impact of creating a living trust.
A living trust uses your Social Security Number as its tax identifier, and this type of trust is not a separate entity from you for tax purposes. However, a living trust is a separate entity from you for the purpose of avoiding the court process called probate, and this is where the confusion regarding taxes often comes from. But before we explain the tax implications of a living trust, let’s first describe how a living trust works.
A living trust is simply an agreement between a person known as the grantor, who gives assets to a person or entity known as a trustee, to hold those assets for the benefit of a beneficiary(s). In the case of a revocable living trust, the reason there are no tax consequences is because you can revoke the trust agreement or take the assets back from the trustee at any time, for any reason. In fact, as long as you are living, you can change the terms of the trust, change the trustee, change the beneficiaries, or terminate the trust altogether.
However, upon your death, a revocable living trust becomes irrevocable, and this is when tax consequences come into play. Following your death, the trustee you’ve named will step in and take over management of the trust assets, and one of the first things that your trustee will do is to apply for a tax ID number for the trust. At this point, the trust becomes a taxable entity, and any income earned inside of the trust that is not distributed in that year would be subject to income taxes, at the taxable rates of the trust (or at the tax rates of the beneficiaries, if income is distributed to the beneficiaries).
Irrevocable Trust
An irrevocable trust is created when you make a gift to a trustee to hold assets for the benefit of the beneficiary, and you cannot take back the gift you’ve made to that individual.
When you create an irrevocable trust, either during your lifetime, or at death through a testamentary trust (a trust that arises at the time of your death through your will), or through a revocable living trust creating during your lifetime, the trust is a separate tax-paying entity, and it is either subject to income tax on the earnings of the trust at the rates of the trust or at the rates of the beneficiaries.
Unlike a revocable living trust, an irrevocable trust is (as the name implies) irrevocable. This means that the trust’s terms cannot be changed, and the trust cannot be terminated once it’s been executed. When you transfer assets into an irrevocable trust, you relinquish all ownership of those assets, and your chosen trustee takes total control of the assets transferred into the name of the trust. Because you no longer own the assets held by the trust, those assets are no longer considered part of your estate, and as long as the trust has been properly maintained, the assets held by the trust are also protected from lawsuits, creditors, divorce, serious illness and accidents, and even bankruptcy.
CKLH Is Here For You
If you are trying to decide whether a revocable living trust or an irrevocable trust is the right solution for you and your family, you need the experienced estate planning attorneys at Cottle Keen Lopiccolo & Heyde, LLP.
To schedule your Family Wealth Planning Session, please call (714) 997-7870, or click here to contact CKLH by email.
