Repairing A Broken Trust

A trust usually forms a critical part of one's estate plan. For example, it is often used to transfer:

• Family wealth to the younger generation in a tax efficient manner;
• Interests in family businesses;
• Property in a way that protects a beneficiary from his or her otherwise unfettered spending;
• Property so that it is protected from a beneficiary's creditors; and
• Property so that it is protected in the event of divorce.

Broadly speaking, there are two types of trusts, i.e., revocable and irrevocable.

A revocable trust can be amended or revoked by the grantor – the person who set up the trust. An irrevocable trust, the opposite of a revocable trust, generally cannot be modified or revoked.