Trusts

Compare trust structures by purpose, control, access, tax treatment, administration, and state-law considerations.

Every guide opens with a simple explanation, then goes deeper into mechanics, tradeoffs, examples, state differences and sources.

Browse the guides Trusts at a glance Glossary
A couple in their fifties going through a binder of trust documents with their attorney

Trusts compared

Compare two in depth

The same six questions for every trust. Select a column heading to sort. Each answer is the general rule; the guide explains the exceptions.

Trust structures compared by type, income tax, estate-tax effect, asset protection, complexity and typical cost
Blind Trust Varies Often grantor trust, but regime-specific None by itself None by itself High High
Charitable Lead TrustCLT Irrevocable Grantor or non-grantor design Potentially high for transferred remainder Possible for remainder beneficiaries Very high Very high
Charitable Remainder TrustCRT Irrevocable Special split-interest tax regime Potentially meaningful for charitable remainder Not primary Very high Very high
Charitable Remainder UnitrustCRUT Irrevocable Special split-interest tax regime Potentially meaningful for charitable remainder Not primary Very high Very high
Credit Shelter / Bypass TrustCST / Bypass Irrevocable Usually separate non-grantor trust after death High potential where exposure exists Often meaningful for spouse and descendants High High
Directed Trust Revocable Depends on host trust and powers Depends on host trust Depends on host trust High High
Domestic Asset Protection TrustDAPT Irrevocable Often grantor trust, but design-dependent Not automatic and often conflicting with retained-benefit goals Potential but uncertain, especially across states Very high Very high
Dynasty Trust Irrevocable Grantor or non-grantor initially High potential if transfers are complete and administration succeeds Often strong for beneficiaries, subject to law and terms Very high Very high
Family Pot Trust Depends on host plan during life Depends on host plan Not primary Often meaningful while pooled Moderate Moderate
Firearms / NFA TrustNFA Trust Often revocable, but design varies Usually grantor trust while revocable None by itself Not primary High Moderate to high
Generation-Skipping TrustGST Trust Usually irrevocable Grantor or non-grantor depending on design Potentially high Often meaningful for beneficiaries Very high Very high
Grantor Retained Annuity TrustGRAT Irrevocable Generally grantor trust during retained term High potential for successful appreciation Not primary for grantor Very high Very high
Grantor Trust Revocable Grantor-trust status is the defining feature None by classification alone None by classification alone Moderate to very high Moderate to high
Intentionally Defective Grantor TrustIDGT Irrevocable Intentionally grantor trust for income tax High potential Often meaningful for beneficiaries Very high Very high
Irrevocable Life Insurance TrustILIT Irrevocable Often grantor trust during insured's life, design-dependent High potential for death benefit Often meaningful for beneficiaries High High plus insurance costs
Irrevocable Trust Irrevocable Grantor or non-grantor depending on powers and terms Possible, fact-dependent Possible for beneficiaries High High
Marital Trust Varies during the creator's life Depends on creation, powers, and beneficiary rights None from the label alone Depends on the spouse's enforceable rights, trustee discretion, governing law, and actual administration High High
Noncharitable Purpose Trust Usually irrevocable when funded Fact-specific and specialized Not automatic Depends on purpose, terms, and state law Very high Very high
Pet Trust Lifetime form may be revocable Depends on lifetime form Not primary Dedicated-use protection, subject to reasonableness and state law Low to moderate Low to moderate
Pooled Special Needs TrustPooled SNT Generally irrevocable Program- and funding-dependent Not primary Benefit-preservation purpose Moderate to high Moderate
QTIP Marital TrustQTIP Irrevocable Separate trust after death Deferral at first death Potential beneficiary protection, subject to spouse's rights and state law High High
Qualified Domestic TrustQDOT Irrevocable Separate post-death trust analysis Deferral rather than automatic elimination Secondary and state-dependent Very high Very high
Qualified Income / Miller TrustQIT Irrevocable Typically grantor-style income reporting None None Moderate but exacting Moderate
Qualified Personal Residence TrustQPRT Irrevocable Generally grantor trust during retained term Potentially high if grantor survives term Not primary Very high High
Retirement-Benefit Trust: Conduit or Accumulation Host trust may be revocable during owner's life Usually separate trust after account owner's death Not primary Potential, but required distributions and state law matter Very high High
Revocable Living TrustRLT Revocable Usually grantor trust while revocable None by itself None for settlor Moderate Moderate
Spendthrift Trust Usually irrevocable as to the protected beneficiary Varies Not by spendthrift language alone Moderate to strong for third-party beneficiaries Moderate Moderate
Spousal Lifetime Access TrustSLAT Irrevocable Often grantor trust, design-dependent High potential Often meaningful for beneficiaries Very high Very high
Testamentary Trust Revocable Separate estate/trust income-tax analysis after death Depends on substantive terms, not testamentary form Often meaningful for beneficiaries if discretionary and properly administered Moderate Moderate
Third-Party Special Needs TrustSNT Revocable Varies during donor's life Not primary Often strong for beneficiary if purely discretionary High High
Withdrawal-Power / Crummey Trust Usually irrevocable Often grantor trust but not required Supports completed-gift planning Possible after withdrawal window closes, state-dependent High High

Guides in this section

Look up a term

  • Start with

    Revocable Living Trust RLT

    A revocable living trust is a lifetime management and transfer framework the settlor can usually amend or revoke while capable; it can support incapacity and avoid probate for properly funded assets, but it is not a stand-alone tax shelter.

  • Blind Trust

    A blind trust places investment control with an independent trustee and limits the beneficiary's knowledge or influence, but the label alone does not satisfy any particular public-ethics, securities, tax, or conflict rule.

  • Charitable Lead Trust CLT

    A charitable lead trust pays charity first for a term or measured lives, then transfers the remainder to noncharitable beneficiaries; annuity and unitrust versions have different valuation and tax characteristics.

  • Charitable Remainder Trust CRT

    A charitable remainder trust is an irrevocable split-interest trust that pays a qualifying noncharitable interest for a term or lives, with the remainder passing to charity; CRAT and CRUT payout designs differ.

  • Charitable Remainder Unitrust CRUT

    A CRUT is a charitable remainder trust that pays a fixed percentage of annually revalued trust assets, so payments can rise or fall with value; permitted net-income variants add further rules.

  • Credit Shelter / Bypass Trust CST / Bypass

    A credit shelter trust is funded at the first spouse's death to use available exclusion and benefit family without ordinary inclusion in the surviving spouse's estate when designed and administered correctly.

  • Directed Trust

    A directed trust divides traditional trustee functions among a directed trustee and one or more trust directors or advisers, such as separate investment, distribution, or family-business decision-makers.

  • Domestic Asset Protection Trust DAPT

    A DAPT is a self-settled irrevocable trust formed under a state's statute that may protect a settlor-beneficiary from some future creditors if strict requirements are met; interstate, bankruptcy, fraudulent-transfer, and public-policy issues make outcomes uncertain.

  • Dynasty Trust

    A dynasty trust is a long-duration trust designed to hold and govern assets for multiple generations, often combining GST planning, beneficiary protection, and flexible fiduciary governance.

  • Family Pot Trust

    A family pot trust holds one common fund for several children or descendants so a trustee can respond to unequal needs before dividing the remainder at a specified event.

  • Firearms / NFA Trust NFA Trust

    A firearms trust is a trust drafted to own and administer firearms under applicable federal and state law, including National Firearms Act procedures where relevant; it does not waive background checks, registration, transfer tax, possession limits, or local prohibitions.

  • Generation-Skipping Trust GST Trust

    A generation-skipping trust is designed for beneficiaries two or more generations below the transferor, or other skip persons, with deliberate GST-tax allocation and distribution planning.

  • Grantor Retained Annuity Trust GRAT

    A GRAT is an irrevocable term trust in which the grantor keeps a fixed annuity and transfers remaining value to beneficiaries if asset performance exceeds the assumed federal rate and the structure succeeds.

  • Grantor Trust

    A grantor trust is an income-tax classification under which the grantor or another owner is treated as owning all or part of the trust; it does not by itself answer whether a gift is complete or assets are in the taxable estate.

  • Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust IDGT

    An IDGT is an irrevocable trust designed so a transfer can be complete for gift and estate tax while the grantor remains the income-tax owner; the 'defect' is intentional only in that tax-classification sense.

  • Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust ILIT

    An ILIT is an irrevocable trust designed to own or receive life insurance and manage proceeds, often seeking liquidity and exclusion from the insured's gross estate when ownership and administration rules are satisfied.

  • Irrevocable Trust

    An irrevocable trust is a broad category in which the settlor cannot simply reclaim or rewrite the arrangement at will; its tax, creditor, and control results depend on retained powers, beneficiary rights, funding, and governing law.

  • Marital Trust

    A marital trust is a broad descriptive category for a trust designed to benefit a spouse; it is not one standardized tax classification, and only a trust that satisfies the applicable statutory terms and elections receives a federal or state marital deduction.

  • Noncharitable Purpose Trust

    A noncharitable purpose trust holds property for a permitted purpose rather than ordinary human beneficiaries, typically requiring an enforcer and a state law that recognizes the purpose and duration.

  • Pet Trust

    A pet trust sets aside property and enforceable care directions for one or more animals, usually for the animals' lifetimes, with a trustee managing funds and a caregiver providing daily care.

  • Pooled Special Needs Trust Pooled SNT

    A pooled trust is administered by a nonprofit that maintains a separate subaccount for each beneficiary while pooling investment and administration; qualifying first-party subaccounts follow federal and state payback or retention rules.

  • QTIP Marital Trust QTIP

    A QTIP trust can qualify property for the estate-tax marital deduction while requiring income for the surviving spouse and preserving the first spouse's control over the remainder, if statutory terms and the executor's election are satisfied.

  • Qualified Domestic Trust QDOT

    A QDOT can permit a marital deduction for qualifying property passing to a surviving spouse who is not a U.S. citizen, while imposing U.S.-trustee, withholding, security, and distribution-tax rules.

  • Qualified Income / Miller Trust QIT

    A qualified income trust is a narrow Medicaid eligibility device used in certain income-cap states to receive and route an applicant's income under required rules; it does not shelter assets or create discretionary family wealth.

  • Qualified Personal Residence Trust QPRT

    A QPRT transfers a qualifying residence to an irrevocable trust while the grantor retains use for a fixed term, reducing the value of the taxable remainder gift if statutory requirements are met.

  • Retirement-Benefit Trust: Conduit or Accumulation

    A trust named as retirement-account beneficiary can be drafted to pass plan distributions out to a beneficiary (conduit) or retain them (accumulation), but qualification, payout timing, tax rate, protection, and beneficiary eligibility must be analyzed under current retirement law.

  • Spendthrift Trust

    A spendthrift trust restricts a beneficiary's voluntary and involuntary transfer of an interest before distribution; it is usually a protective provision within another trust, not one uniform product.

  • Spousal Lifetime Access Trust SLAT

    A SLAT is an irrevocable lifetime gift trust created by one spouse for the other spouse and often descendants, seeking to move assets outside the donor's estate while preserving indirect family access through discretionary distributions.

  • Testamentary Trust

    A testamentary trust is created under a will and begins at death after the will is admitted and the trust is funded through estate administration.

  • Third-Party Special Needs Trust SNT

    A third-party special needs trust holds assets contributed by someone other than the beneficiary and gives a trustee discretion to supplement the beneficiary's life without assuming the trust is invisible to every benefit program.

  • Withdrawal-Power / Crummey Trust

    A Crummey trust gives beneficiaries temporary, real withdrawal rights intended to make contributions present-interest gifts for annual-exclusion purposes; the rights, notices, funding, and trustee conduct must be genuine.

Funding, roles and the will behind the trust