Estate & probate
Irrevocable trust
An irrevocable trust is a trust you cannot freely change or undo once it is created, which is precisely what allows it to do things a revocable trust cannot.
Giving up control is the mechanism. Because the assets are genuinely no longer yours to reclaim, they can sit outside your estate for tax purposes and, depending on the structure and the timing, outside the reach of future creditors or long-term care spend-down rules.
There are many varieties, each built for a specific job: asset protection, tax planning, holding life insurance, providing for a beneficiary who should not receive money outright. Choosing between them is genuinely a legal question, and one where the wrong structure is worse than none.
What it does not do
An irrevocable trust does not let you keep control of the assets while pretending they are gone. Retained control is the first thing challenged, whether by a creditor, a tax authority or a benefits assessor. It also does not work retroactively. Put in place after a claim arises or a care need appears, it is vulnerable to being unwound.
This entry is a general explanation, not advice for your situation, and it deliberately avoids thresholds and figures, because those are the part most likely to be out of date. Reviewed August 27, 2026. If a decision turns on any of it, ring the office rather than relying on a page.
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From definition to your situation
Whether this applies to you is a different question.
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