Irrevocable trusts are the heavy machinery of estate planning, for tax planning, asset protection, special needs, life insurance, and charitable giving. Used right, they protect the people and the wealth you care about for generations. Used wrong, they create headaches and tax bills. We use them right.
Most clients don’t need an irrevocable trust. The ones who do, really do. Here are the situations we see most often.
For dates of death in 2026, estates above $15 million per individual ($30 million for a married couple) are exposed to a 40% federal estate tax. The right irrevocable trust moves assets, and their growth, out of the taxable estate. Exemption amounts change over time; we'll confirm the current figures during your consultation.
A child or grandchild on Medicaid or SSI can lose benefits if they inherit outright. A Special Needs Trust holds their inheritance and supplements government benefits without disqualifying them.
Doctors, business owners, and anyone in a high-liability profession can use irrevocable trusts to put assets beyond the reach of future creditors and lawsuits.
An ILIT keeps a large policy's death benefit out of your taxable estate: the difference between the IRS getting 40% and your family getting all of it.
Charitable remainder and lead trusts let you support a cause you care about, take a tax deduction, and keep an income stream, all in the same structure.
We’ll tell you straight if an irrevocable trust isn’t the right tool. Most of the time, a revocable trust is enough.
Book a CallMost clients ask us about Special Needs Trusts, ILITs, and Charitable Trusts. Here’s the short version of what each one is for, and when it earns its place in your plan.
If a beneficiary receives means-tested government benefits like Medicaid or SSI, an outright inheritance can disqualify them. A Special Needs Trust is the standard tool: assets are held in trust and used to supplement (not replace) public benefits, covering things like therapies, education, equipment, and quality-of-life expenses the programs don't cover. We draft third-party SNTs funded by parents or grandparents to protect a beneficiary's eligibility for public benefits.
An ILIT owns the life insurance policy on your life. Because you don't own it personally, the death benefit isn't included in your taxable estate at the federal level, which can be the difference between the IRS taking 40% and your family receiving the full proceeds. We coordinate with your insurance professional on policy ownership and beneficiary designations, and walk you through the gift-tax filings (Form 709) that go with it.
A Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) pays you (or your beneficiaries) an income stream for a term of years or for life, with the remainder going to charity. A Charitable Lead Trust (CLT) flips that: the charity gets the income stream, and the remainder returns to your family. Both can produce a meaningful income-tax deduction in the year of funding and remove appreciating assets from your taxable estate. We work with your CPA and the charity's planned-giving office to make sure the structure does what you intend.
Plan on four to six weeks from first call to signing, the same window we run for revocable trusts, because the strategy work matters more than the typing work. When the timing is genuinely urgent, we can move as fast as two weeks.
Irrevocable means irrevocable. Before we draft anything, we make sure the trade-offs (loss of control, gift-tax filings, complexity) are worth what you’re trying to achieve.
The right vehicle depends entirely on the goal. We assess your situation and recommend the structure that fits it, rather than starting from a trust you already have in mind.
We work directly with your CPA, financial advisor, and insurance professional. Irrevocable trusts only work when everyone is rowing in the same direction.
Final signing, transfer of assets, and any required gift-tax filings (Form 709). We give you and your CPA a clean handoff, not a binder of unanswered questions.
Irrevocable trusts run wider in price than the rest of estate planning; the type of trust drives the number. We’ll give you a written fixed fee after the strategy meeting.
A conversation with us will tell you whether an irrevocable trust earns its place in your plan, or whether something simpler will do.
