what is an irrevocable trust 
the purpose of an irrevocable trust is to move the assets from the grantor s control and name to that of the beneficiary this reduces the value of the grantor s estate in regard to estate taxes and protects the assets from creditors irrevocable trusts cannot be modified amended or terminated without the permission of the grantor s beneficiary or by the order of a court the exact rules can vary by state the grantor having effectively transferred all ownership of assets into the trust legally removes all of their rights of ownership to the assets and the trust irrevocable trusts are generally set up to minimize estate taxes access government benefits and protect assets this is in contrast to a revocable trust which allows the grantor to modify the trust but loses certain benefits such as creditor protection investopedia mira norian